Before I met You
by TiA995
Summary: Dimitri was not always the man we've known him to be and Rose might be Dimitri's true love, but she wasn't his first. What was his life like before he came to St. Vladimir's? How did it change when a little black-haired Moroi girl walked into it? And how did it fall apart when she got torn out of it along with his best friend?
1. CH1 - Hello Cruel World

**POV: Olena**

It was a calm December night, surprisingly warm despite the breeze that made the branches on the trees dance up and down, casting dappled shadows onto the freshly fallen layer of snow. Karolina was asleep, her angelic face relaxed carelessly as the world of dreams roamed through her head, a world that must have been made beautiful by her childish innocence and imagination. Sonya was still stubbornly fighting against letting that same world take her and pull her into a blissful oblivion. Her head was prompted against my shoulder and her tiny hand was gripping the front of my shirt. Her eyelids would close and open sluggishly, since her battle was a losing one.

I flipped open a new page of the notebook in front of me. I gripped the pen tightly between my fingers as I let its tip wonder over the beginning of the page. I took a deep breath before scribbling _December 10_ _th_ _, Baia_ in the right corner. I always hated that "Dear Diary" part, which is why I shortly proceeded to simply write what I had in mind. It wasn't until I was on my third page that I realized just how much emotions I needed to let out, bleed my soul and heart onto the pages, write down the things I could say to no one, the things no one wanted to hear. My knuckles turned white and I my heartbeat fastened as the parchment hungrily absorbed the ink making it dry quickly. And then it happened, for the first time in my life, for the first time since I've met him. I written down two words, two words that I never even whispered to anyone before, never dreamed of spilling my secret. _Randall Ivashkov._

I dropped the pen, watching it roll off the notebook and over the table until it was stopped by a stack of books on its edge. My breathing was heavy, by chest heaving in a way that made Sonya's head sway. My heart was thumping so strongly it was beginning to hurt. I stared down at the name I've written, stared at it until the breeze outside turned into a harsh wind and the moonlight dimmed since dark clouds rolled over the sky.

I stood up harshly, surprised to see my movements didn't wake either of my daughters. I carried Sonya to her bed and laid her down, tucking the covers around her carefully. I dashed back towards the desk and grabbed the notebook, slamming it shut and stashing it under my arm. I picked up my sweater and threw it around my shoulders before I hurried out of the room. As soon as I took my last step down the stairs my mother called out to me: "Lena, where are you headed?"

"Just out for a walk mama", I responded as she appeared from the living room.

"In the middle of the night and dressed like that?", she questioned, rising an eyebrow at me as she glanced down at my giant belly.

"I'll be fine", I reassured her, "I won't be long."

She gave me a strange look, but said nothing else. I was a grown woman, a mother of two, soon three, after all. She couldn't really tell me what I should and what I shouldn't do, though she loved testing those boundaries. I hurried outside, but not before I opened a drawer and snatched a tiny box of matches out of it. When the door closed behind me I instantly regretted I've only brought my sweater with me. A storm was coming, as strange as it might be for such tranquility from earlier this night to turn into havoc so fast right before my eyes. The wind blew my hair into my eyes as I hugged my body and hurried down the hill towards the tree line.

I stopped once my house vanished from sight, ripping the notebook out from underneath my arm before dropping it to the ground, ruining the untouched layer of snow before my feet. I peered at the words that I've written one more time before I took the matchbox out of my pocket. I had to kneel, lighting the match and curling my palm around it to keep it from blowing out. The tiny light kissed the corner of the page and I squinted at the small sparks spreading over the parchment. The fire spread fast, the wind urging it on and I straitened up, watching the paper burn, the name of the man whose children I've given birth to, the man I was addicted to like a drug, slowly disappearing under the grey dust left after the raging flames.

When there was nothing left, when the dust melted into the snow turning it into a light shade of gray, I turned to leave, finally feeling the tears burn my eyes. Lightning struck in the same moment I felt a surge of pain in my abdomen. I bent over gasping, placing my palms on my knees. It lasted briefly, but I knew exactly what it meant so even after it stopped I was paralyzed. I pushed myself to move when another lightning cracked through the sky, making my way back to the house hurriedly. As soon as I pushed the door open somebody rushed towards me. At first I thought it was Yeva, but when I looked up at the person standing before me, I realized I was mistaken.

"Oksana?", I asked, leaning against the door, "What are you doing here?"

"Yeva told me I should be here around midnight. She said she'll be needing help about something", she elaborated while she offered me her hand.

"When did she tell you that?", I breathed out as another wave of pain struck.

This was happening way faster than it ought to. Though I shouldn't be surprised, I was about to give birth to a third child after all. I just hoped it would run as smoothly as it did with Karolina and Sonya.

"This morning", Oksana admitted with a shy smile playing on her lips.

Yeva joined us in that moment and I couldn't help but to fume: "What's the use of having a mother who can predict the future if she never uses her gift to help _me_?"

"I _am_ using it to help you", she responded calmly while she stirred we along with Oksana towards the stairs, "Now come on child, we have a new life to deliver to this world."

We slowly made it to my room and I instantly glanced towards the beds where I left my daughters, but they were nowhere to be found. Instead, there was a woman there that I've seen around the village, but I've never met. She registered my panicked look straight away and quickly supplied: "Karolina and Sonya are downstairs with my daughter Dina. She'll keep an eye on them until you deliver."

I opened my mouth, but no words came out since a contraction hit me harder. I took a deep breath and dragged myself towards the bed, refusing to let anyone help me climb on it. I wanted to tell both Oksana and the other woman to go home. I didn't need any help at all. I knew what to do and I was used to doing it by myself. My mother did the things I couldn't, but as she put it, I was a stubborn woman, willing to do whatever it took to fight and win my battles. Though, soon I realized I was about to be proven wrong this time around. So very wrong.

I gripped the sheets on the bed in agony, crying out so loud I almost expected the roof to crumble down on us. The contractions have been coming one after the other with incredible intensity for the past twenty agonizing minutes.

"Something is wrong, this shouldn't ahhh-", I cried out as Oksana wiped my forehead with a wet cloth.

"Everything is fine, don't you worry", the woman who eventually introduced herself as Vera voiced, kneeling between my legs before she added, "It's time for you to push now."

"No, I-, I can't", I argued as I focused on the window, watching the sleet shower onto it mercilessly, pieces of ice so big they looked like shards of glass.

"Don't fret", mama ordered taking my hand and gripping it tightly, "This child is a bigger warrior than you and it's coming into this world whether you help it or not."

"Come on Olena, you can do this", Oksana encouraged me, taking my other hand and rubbing it in a way that made me feel warmer and more relaxed despite the fear that was consuming me.

"Push", Vera repeated as I clenched my hands into fists around the poor women's fingers and gritted my teeth doing as I was told.

Everything after that was like a dream, an illusion, it felt surreal, the image blurred, the sounds muffled. The storm didn't matter, the women around me didn't matter, I didn't matter. Only my baby was important. _Come on little warrior,_ I thought as I put all of my strength into pushing, _I've been waiting for you._

"One more time", Vera's voice floated towards me through the haze.

I heard a cry erupt and spill through the room. It took me a moment to realize it wasn't coming from me. I looked up at my mother in panic, but her knowing eyes were calm and reassuring. She smiled a small smile and nodded, before she moved aside so Vera could approach me.

"Is she alright?", I asked instinctively, peering up at the bundle she carried.

" _He_ is perfect", she whispered with a cordial smile, approaching me and handing me my baby.

"H-, he?", I stammered as my eyes finally fell upon his face.

I have a boy. My sweet little son. Well in all fairness he wasn't all that little, but I could still wrap him up in my arms just like I held Karolina and Sonya when they first saw the light of the world. He blinked up at me and I gasped, seeing his eyes weren't green either, but a dark chocolate color, almost like mine.

"He's beautiful", Oksana peeped, tipping her head to the side to get a better look, "How will you call him?"

"Dimitri", I breathed out, the name just rolling off my tongue without a second thought.

"It's very accurate", Yeva elaborated, "Follower of Demeter, the mother of earth. His ascendant is in Virgo-."

"I just like the name mama", I cut in through a laugh as Dimitri stretched in my arms, "It has nothing to do with that whole-."

"So many years and you still think things just happen by accident?", she interrupted me now, rising her eyebrow in a challenge, "This boy is special. He was born in a storm and so his life will be filled with them."

"That doesn't sound like a good thing", Oksana mumbled, giving Dimitri a worried look.

"It is, because there is always a rainbow after a storm and his will be the brightest of them all", Yeva announced mysteriously before she added, "We should let my daughter rest. Come, let's go downstairs."

Vera waited for my mother to join her, slipping her arm around my mother's shoulders and heading out, but Oksana lingered. She smiled at me before she offered: "Do you want me to take him?"

"No, I got this", I responded, reaching up to give her hand a squeeze, "Thank you."

She nodded and left, gently closing the door behind her. I rocked Dimitri while his eyes darted up filled with wonder. Already an explorer. I straightened up in the bed and swaddled him tighter as I repeated in a hushed voice: "I got this. We got this."

 **POV: Dimitri**

"Karo, for the last time, be still", mama repeated as she tried to adjust Karolina's dress.

Karolina hated dresses and top of it she was hardly ever immobile. Unlike her Sonya was already fully clothed, wearing her favorite flowery dress, skin color tights and baby pink shoes, sitting patiently next to the mirror and examining her reflection. I chewed the last piece of my meal and silently stood up, taking the plate to the kitchen. Grandmother was washing the dishes with a frown playing on her forehead. She's been in a foul mood all morning. I had no idea why, but then again, I don't think anyone ever knew why my grandmother was in any kind of mood. She was a very mysterious being.

"You should be careful where you're going boy", she warned me without so much as a glance my way as I handed her the empty plate.

I opened my mouth to ask her what she meant by it, but thought better of it. _Never question your grandmother,_ mama always warned, _the only thing you'll get by asking her questions is a headache._ I strolled out slowly, but as soon as my movements couldn't be monitored by anyone I rushed towards the front door. I felt the fresh air fill my lungs as I took a deep breath and glanced around. Karo and Sonya will be leaving for school later today and I was just itching to get my freedom. The whole yard, the whole house, just for me. It wasn't a small house, but I wouldn't exactly call it big either, especially with my sisters lack of understanding of my need for privacy.

I tumbled down the four steps, gripping the tiny wooden cowboy in my hand. It was my favorite toy. Well, it was my only toy, but even if it wasn't it'd still be my favorite. Mama bought it for me during the last Christmas fair, it was handmade, but it barely cost anything. The man that was selling it was just about to go home when we arrived. We were late as always, mama had just finished with work. The man had already packed up most of his things, the lonely cowboy on the horse remaining as the only toy on the stand. It was carved out to perfection, the details and the colors making it stand out. Karo and Sonya already got their presents. Their dolls were too expensive for our limited budged, but Christmas was the time of the year when mama hardly ever said no to our pleas. My sisters used that as an opportunity to get whatever they wanted, but I always felt too shy to ask for anything. That was until I saw that cowboy. I remember tugging my mother's hand, discreetly pointing towards the object of my desire and peering up at her patiently. She gave me a soft and loving smile, making her way towards the stand without a second thought, with me right on her heels.

"How much for-?"

"I'm done for the day Miss", the man cut in without even looking at her.

"Please, I just want to buy a present for my son", she voiced, leaning over the stand to get his attention.

He twirled around in annoyance, probably intending to brush her off, but stopped abruptly, his face shifting into a strange expression. He gave my mother a strange look, the kind of look that made me think he was admiring her. It also made me think that he knew her from before. His eyes darted down to me and he spoke up in a completely different tone: "Is that your boy?"

"Yes", mama responded in a slightly shaky voice.

"He takes after you I see", he commented as he glanced back up at my mother, "How have you been Lena?"

"Good. I've been good", mama said, blushing barely visibly, "How are things with you Yura?"

"Better than I hopped", he chuckled, while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "I'm moving soon. Irina found a job in Moscow, so-."

"That's great news, congratulations", mama blurted out before biting her lip.

"Is his father still in the picture?", Yura asked before quickly adding, "If you don't mind me asking?"

"No, he's not around right now", mama mumbled swiftly, switching the subject by asking, "So how much for the toy?"

"Take it", Yura said gesturing towards it, "It's free."

"No, no", she protested, pulling out her wallet from the pocket of her coat, "I can pay for it, I'll pay for it."

"Lena, there is really no need. We've been _friends_ for a long time", he argued, tumbling over the word friends as he snuck a peek at me again.

"Yura, please, I-."

All of a sudden Yeva appeared next to us, followed by Karo and Sonya who were arguing over what we should have for the Christmas feast. Again an exception from the rule since only then did we get to pick what we eat. The rest of the year was pretty much based on the _eat what you've been given_ rule. Yeva took the wallet out of mama's hands and took out a coin of the lowest value.

"Symbolic", was the only thing she said to him before she nudged my sisters back towards the road leading to our home.

Yura watched her go, rolling the coin between his fingers before he shook his head and laughed: "Your mother still scares me to the bone."

"You and me both", mama giggled, taking the cowboy and handing it to me, "Thank you for this."

"Don't mention it", he stressed, rounding the stand and surprising my mother with a tight hug.

When he stepped back, I took a few steps so that I winded up between him and my mother, glaring at him, but politely saying: "Thank you Mister."

"You are welcome young man", he exclaimed, giving me an amused look before he added, "He is a tough fella, isn't he?"

"The toughest", mama confirmed before saying goodbye.

We were already halfway down the street when he called after us. Mama stopped and waited for him to catch up, while grandmother peered over her shoulder to see what was taking us so long. He was out of breath when he came to a halt before us, but he quickly blurted: "You are too good for him Lena, you were always too good for him. I hope you know that."

"Yura-."

"You didn't pick me", he cut in before she could say anything but his name, "You didn't pick me and that's fine. I don't hold grudges and I will always cherish the time we've spent together, but please, for the love of everything, don't ever let him back in."

"Dimka, go join babushka", mama ordered and I did as she asked, but not before I managed to hear one last thing Yura said: "He doesn't deserve you or your beautiful children."

I loved my toy, loved it from the moment I saw it. From the day my mother put it into my hand I never let go of it, I held on to it even when I was sleeping. Its color faded over the months, rubbed off because of the sweat of my hands and surfaces it was dragged across when I played. I think I'll always remember the day when she bought it. Not just because of my attachment to it, but because of the memory of the man who sold it to us. Yura. He was the first person to ever mention my father. The mysterious man we never spoke about. Yura didn't seem to like him and me, well, I just wanted to know him. And I would have never guessed in a million years I'd be carrying around Yura's toy when I finally met him.

Freedom. Yes, that's what I've been seeking when I rushed outside and away from the dress drama in the house. There was one thing, just one thing that always made me feel completely free. Running. I think it's because it felt like I was flying and when you could fly, you could go anywhere. So I spread my arms, holding onto my duster coated friend and I took off, feeling like I was sliding just barely above the ground. I ran in circles around the house until I was too dizzy to stand. I headed towards the front again, watching my feet bend the grass over which they crossed until I hit something. The impact sent me down on my back.

I shook my head to clear my vision and peered up to a tall figure blocking the setting sun. He was a Moroi, dressed in an expensive looking black coat and shoes, with dark brown hair and crystal-like green eyes. He studied me while a small smile played on his lips. It was a kind of smile I've never seen before, one that looked anything but happy or genuine.

"You should be careful where you're going boy", he spoke in English.

"Sorry Sir", I responded in the language of his choice, my Russian accent lacing my words.

"What is your name?", he asked with an amused expression.

"Dimitri."

"Dimitri, where is your mother?", he questioned further, without giving me his name in return for mine.

Before I could respond though, my mother stepped over the threshold like on cue, shouting: "Dim-."

She never finished what she was about to say though, since her eyes landed on the stranger standing next to me and she froze. She stared at him like he was a ghost, an impossible apparition. He, on the other hand, gave her a nonchalant grin and greeted her with: "Olena, long time no see. I was in the neighborhood, thought I'd stop by. Meet your son that you've obviously forgotten to tell me about."

"Randall", she breathed out, coming down the steps to join us, "It's quite a surprise to see you. I wasn't expecting any guests. And as for my son, I didn't think you'd find it important to be notified of his existence."

"Of course I'd find it important my darling", he exclaimed, "He is, after all, _my_ son too, isn't he? That makes him very important."

I blinked up at the man in shock. This was him. This was my father. He looked a lot different than I pictured. Acted differently too. He was strange. Very strange. I just couldn't decide yet whether I liked him or not. My mother studied him as well, like she doubted he was true to his words when he approached her, giving her a quick, but gentle kiss on the cheek before he whispered in a sweet voice: "I missed you so much my beautiful flower. Haven't you missed me at least a little bit?"

She smiled, shyly, turning her head to hide the blush of her cheeks. He snuck an arm around her waist, pulling her closer and pressed his fingers against her chin to make her face him: "Don't hide. I see your face too seldom for it to be hidden when I'm here."

"Well that's your fault", she scolded him, but her resolve was fading.

"Aren't you a sweet talker?", Yeva's voice interrupted the pair and brought me back to the real world, away from the hypnotic scene I was witnessing.

"Mother, don't", mama warned, but stepped back in embarrassment as Yeva leaned against the entrance and gave her a judgmental look.

"Yeva, good to see you", Randall exclaimed with his odd grin returning, obviously, unlike my mother, not a bit ashamed by the attitude my grandmother frowned upon.

"The feeling, sadly, isn't mutual", Yeva scoffed before she fixed me with her eyes and instructed, "Dimka go help your sisters pack for school."

Disobeying was not something I was prone to do, so I hurried inside without a second glance at my parents. It wasn't until both Karo and Sonya abandoned their packing in order to sneak up to the edge of the stairs and take a peek at the man whose blood ran through our veins just as much as our mother's, that I dared to ignore Yeva's requests. I kneeled next to Karo who took my hand and squeezed it lightly, while Sonya wiggled her way under my arm. We huddled together, innocent, curious children, listening to the conversation happening below us and understanding so very little of it.

"- the longest you've been away", mama finished whatever she was saying before we began our eavesdropping.

"The business was tough in the past few years", Randall responded through a yawn.

"I figured that much", mama chuckled nervously, "Since your checks stopped coming."

"Not that there was ever many of them", Yeva mumbled under her breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear, us included.

"Is everything you care about money, old woman?", Randall growled making the three of us twitch.

"No, of course not", mama responded instead of Yeva in the humblest voice I've ever heard her use, "She didn't mean that."

"Don't you tell me what I do and do not mean child", Yeva scolded her, her voiced followed by a sound of feet shuffling.

We all realized too late the steps she took were in our direction. When her eyes fixed on us through the cracks in the railing Sonya and Karo instantly ran back to their room. I, on the other hand, was left frozen in my spot, fixed down by her sharp gaze. She lifted her hand and curled it, leaving only her index finger to beckon me. I reluctantly descended, stopping when I was inches away from her.

"Watch and learn now Dimitri. Watch and learn how a man should never act", she whispered, shoving me towards the living room.

"Hand me that bottle", Randall said to mama as I strolled towards them, uncertain what I should do.

The bottle he was referring to contained a see-through fluid that at first I've mistaken for water, but when I looked up at his face, seeing his cheeks have gained a little color and his eyes shone a bit more, I realized it was alcohol. Yeva once gave me a long lecture about how I should never touch the bottles in the basement that had the sign vodka written on them. _Drinking it will make the world spin and your words hard do pronounce,_ she said. I realized that must have been the reason why his speech slowed compared to earlier and why he had a firm grip on the armrest.

"I think you've had quite enough", Yeva declared, her eyes narrowing as mama reached for the vodka that stood on the table in front of them.

He ignored Yeva, taking the alcohol and pouring it heftily into his glass. He took a strong gulp afterwards, while mama looked back and forth between him and Yeva. He smirked at the glass like he was proud of his accomplishment to empty half of it in one try.

"I said, you've had enough", Yeva almost shouted, her eyes blazing.

I don't think I've ever seen her that angry. Come to think of it, I don't think anger was an emotion that ever found its way into my grandmother's behavior. Randall's eyes were as cold as ice when they shot up at her. He gritted his teeth audible, before he spoke: "Enough is when I say-."

"Randall, please", mama babbled as I dashed towards her, wanting to get out of the way, run from the battlefield forming before me.

His eyes slashed through me like knifes, but he restrained himself from finishing what he has started. It looked like it took him a lot of self-control to do it. I don't know how, but I somehow had a feeling self-control was not something he often exercised.

"Here boy", he spat, pushing the glass and the bottle into my hands in disgruntlement.

His movements surprised me, so I barely had any time to think. I had to drop my toy in order to accept the things he has given to me and while I turned around to place them back on the table, he stood up, causing a harsh noise as he did. It was a crack, the same kind of crack I'd hear when Yeva was breaking planks to add them to the fireplace. Only it was shallower, like the wood that broke was thicker. _My cowboy_. I twirled in my spot, staring in horror as he lifted his shoe and carelessly kicked at the fragments underneath. The head with its signature hat rolled around the floor before it disappeared under the couch.

"Move", I heard Randall's voice order and I knew he was addressing me, but I couldn't breathe, let alone get my limbs to react, "Is he deaf or insubordinate?"

Mama's fingers wrapped around my arm and she tugged me out of the way and into her embrace. My eyes filled with tears while she softly whispered into my hair: "Don't worry Dimka, we'll get it fixed."

"Isn't he old enough not to need toys?", Randall mocked, realizing what all the fuss was about.

"He is five Randall", mama defended me, standing up as well, a dose of aggravation painting her tone.

"Whatever. I'm leaving", was his response, the response that made her eyes fill with panic and her voice go back to the same humble and quiet one she used earlier, "You could stay. Sonya's first day of school is-."

"I don't have time", he barked, swaying slightly as he picked up his coat and headed unsteadily towards the front door.

Mama ran after him, I heard her pleadings in the hallway even though I couldn't see her. Yeva's sigh got me to look up at her. She slumped onto the armchair and mumbled into her chin: "Poison."

A few minutes after the front door slammed shut, mama reappeared with tears in her eyes, rubbing the back of her hand fiercely against her cheek. Yeva's expression turned rock hard while she watched her own daughter began to sob. Mama gave her an accusatory look while she wailed: "I don't want to hear it mother! As always you are ruining everything."

"He's ruining _you_ ", grandmother huffed before mama went to hide in the kitchen.

"But he won't be doing it forever", she added, though mama couldn't hear her anymore.

I don't know why she looked at me when she said her last words. Maybe because I was the only one there or because she knew something I didn't. I felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny of her gaze and the lingering heaviness of her words, so I ducked down and fetched the pieces of my cowboy, carefully cradling them against my chest as I backed away. I glanced at the front door on my way to my room, glanced at it with a dreadful feeling inside of my chest. And just like that the dilemma I had earlier vanished. I was wondering if I liked the strange man who intruded our lives so suddenly and introduced himself as our father. I didn't. I didn't like him at all.

* * *

 **Alright folks, here it is. Way, way, wayyy before it was scheduled, I present to you the story of Dimitri preVA. The reason for this sudden unplanned posting lays in the fact that I've recently become obsessed with this idea and I've written so many parts of the story already that led me to decide it was time to let it see the light of day. It is, as I've already announced during the posting of The Amethyst Heart, essentially a prequel to TAH and the story of how Dimitri and Emilia fell in love. However, it will contain a lot of other mini stories, like parts of Dimitri's childhood and parts of his family's lives, plus it in no way requires of you to read TAH (but you could read it, now or later {to avoid spoiler}, if you'd like, since I'd LOVE that).**

 **I would now like to take a (long) moment to express my thanks publicly to one very special person. This amazing girl, who goes by the user name ohorpheuss around here, is the reason you were all given this story. She has been wonderfully helpful and supportive of my idea, playing a big role in all the touchups and all the small, but very significant details that will make this story what it is. She's sort of played the mixed role of my editor, writing cheerleader, zodiac expert and a bunch of others including being an awesome friend. So, Gaya, thank you for everything you've done and continue doing! You are an amazing person and I'm so lucky to have met you! And for those of you who are not familiar with Gaya's work, stop what you're going like right now (though do come back to see the end of this longass AN later) and go over to her page! Believe me when I tell you this, you'll be thanking me through tears of joy when you experience the symphony of her words through her stories!**

 **Lastly, though it's past time I finished this AN, I'd like to remind you that, as always, every lemony scene during this story will have initial *M* markings in the beginning and the end of it, so you'll be able to skip sexy times if you for some reason feel uncomfortable reading them. And, this part is very IMPORTANT, I'd like to warn you beforehand (though I will do it again when I reach such chapters) that this story will touch on the subjects like domestic violence, depression, self-harm etc. so consider yourself warned since the last thing I want is to trigger anyone who has difficulties with such topics (I'll try to keep them as light as possible though)!**

 **Stopping now, seriously! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please do tell me your thoughts on it via PM or a review (it means the world to me)! Until the next time,**

 **Love T!**


	2. CH2 - Friends

**POV: Dimitri**

"Did you pack your books?"

"Yes."

"And your sweatshirts?"

"Yes."

"And-."

"Mama, I packed everything. Don't worry", I cut in, zipping my bag before turning to my teary-eyed mother.

She was standing on the doorway, glancing around my room which was now almost empty. She was clinging to my jacket like it was a life vest, taking in long breaths to steady herself. I approached her, wrapping my arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. When I stepped back, she gripped my chin and fixed my head so that I had nowhere else to look but at her eyes.

"I'm so proud of you", she croaked out, emotions clogging her throat.

"I love you mama", I mumbled as she leaned in and kissed my forehead.

"I love you too, Dimka", she whispered, before she cleared her throat and yelled, "Sonya Belikova, if I don't find you packed and ready to go I'll whip you silly."

She stormed out of the room and I laughed into my chin, before I picked up my bag and headed out. I stopped on the doorway, turning back around to let my eyes glided over the room again. The only thing left in it were a few books, a perfectly made bed and a lonely coat, which I outgrew too much for it to be used anymore, hanging in closet. I glanced back down at my bag. It was small, smaller than Karolina's and tiny compared to Sonya's. This thing that I could carry with a single hand contained my whole material life. Almost everything I owned, everything I called mine, was packed inside. For some unknown reason I nodded to myself, like I was confirming that this was it, that this was always the way it was going to be, a life packed in a miniature bag, nothing more.

I walked out of my room and closed to door behind me, turning to head downstairs and have the last meal with my whole family until Christmas, but my journey was cut short by a pair of dark, wise eyes belonging to my grandmother, who stood mere inches away from me.

"Your life will be much greater than that", she spoke up, making my eyes widen.

 _That woman can read minds, mark my words,_ Karo said to me once when we were punished for breaking a vase. We didn't do it on purpose, we were just playing around the house and Sonya ran in the wrong direction at the wrong time, knocking into me and falling back on the table where the vase was carelessly placed. When asked about who broke it we were quiet. We had a certain understanding you see. We'd quarrel and fight amongst each other all the time, but when faced with danger from the outside, and that danger so far only came from our mother and grandmother, we'd stick together in a silent vow. It was the very reason why we'd usually all take the same punishment, even when we haven't done equal damage.

This time Yeva was the one who caught us in the aftermath of our mistakes. She asked us to confess, but we stood before her like statues. She tried to lull us into false security, promising no harm will be done to us if we just admit our wrongdoings, but we didn't budge. She then, for some reason, decided to make me sit and enjoy my "freedom", while Karo and Sonya were given glue and the shards of the vase with a mission to fix it back to its former state. It was an impossible task, but they stubbornly tried to accomplish the goal that was set for them. I watched them, feeling bad for not being able to aid them in any way, so after hours of sweating and eyes bulging, when tears sprung to their eyes from anger and helplessness, I stood up and walk into the kitchen, telling our grandmother that I was the one who's done it.

"Sonya broke the vase", she announced when Karo entered, arriving too late to stop me from doing what I intended, "Don't bother lying Dimitri. It's not something a well brought up boy should do."

"If you knew it was her, why did you-?", Karo began, but Yeva shook her head.

"I didn't know for certain until now."

"What was it that confirmed your beliefs?", I wondered, as Karo and I exchanged confused looks.

"Not once have any of you came forth when asked about the bad things you've done. You were as thick as thieves, but only because you shared the punishment. Exclude one and your decisiveness wavers. Each of you had another specific reason to stay quiet. Karolina is the oldest, which is why she is responsible for her siblings and every wrongdoing of theirs is a sign of her failure to guide them. Sonya looks up to her sister, so she is prone to mimicking her in every way. And then there is you, you my boy always keep your lips locked because you are the protector, the savior. It makes you the strongest, but also the weakest. Faced with the fact that you had to watch your sisters suffer and not be able to lift a finger to stop it, you were willing to sacrifice yourself. If you really did what you confessed to, you would have said so straight away when you realized somebody else will take the blame. And if Karolina did it, and she rarely is the one to cause your misadventures, she would have beaten you to it right now, rather admitting her fault than allowing me to think she is not a good role model. That leaves-."

"Sonya", Karo and I said in unison, while Karolina's eyes almost rolled back into her scull as she was overthinking our grandmothers lecture.

"Even if not for all of that, you two were surely screaming her name at me when I first asked you", she added with a self-satisfied smile.

Karo's eyes shot up and she frowned while she carefully responded: "No we weren't."

"Just because you don't put something into words, doesn't mean you're not saying it."

That wasn't the first and certainly not the last time our grandmother has left us speechless. Mama said she had a certain talent for seeing beyond. Beyond what exactly was she seeing was unknown to me still, but her predictions and her way of discoursing others thoughts will forever surprise me. So now as well, standing in the narrow hallway before my room, with my bag still firmly in my hand, I watched her in awe as she walked away, clearly satisfied with the commotion she has caused in my mind.

Sonya bumped into me, rolling her suitcase out of her and Karo's room as fast as her eyes, while my mother breathed down her neck with the same interrogation she has put me through earlier. They surpassed me and headed towards the stair as Karo giggled: "She panics less as school years pass and children pill up. She was unbearable when I was starting my first year."

"You mean it was worse than this", I chuckled, watching my flustered mother with amusement.

I remember mama was excited when Karo was supposed to start her education, but I spent most of that time playing and keeping to myself, so I could hardly recall what "torment" Karo had to endure from our panicked mother.

"So much worse", Karo breathed out though a wide smile.

When we snuggled in the backseat of Mark's car, who kindly offered to take us to the train station, I glanced back at my mother and grandmother one more time. Mama was crying her eyeballs out and, even though I couldn't hear her, I was sure my babushka was telling her to keep it together. How could a mother and a daughter be so different and so alike in the same time was beyond me. Mark waved at them before starting the car and driving us away from our home. We were silent for a while, until Karo and Sonya began bickering about who was getting the bed next to the window in their room this year. My sisters got lucky since they were allowed to be roommates as soon as Sonya started school. I, on the other hand, will surely be placed with a stranger. I already felt uncomfortable at the thought. I liked my space and having some unknown person intruding it daily was not something I was looking forward to.

"Excited about your first day Dimka?", Mark voiced, glancing at my reflection in the review mirror.

"Yes Sir", I responded, though excited was not the word I'd use to describe my state right about now.

"It's Mark", he corrected, flashing me a smile, "I told you that a million times."

"Sorry, Mark", I said, wiggling to make more room for myself in-between my sisters.

Mark noticed it, so his next words came through a laugh: "It's getting crowded in the back I see. I should have seated one of you upfront. My mistake, I keep forgetting how big you've already grown."

"We'll manage", I mumbled, as Karo slipped her hand behind me to swipe Sonya in annoyance to her insubordination.

"Ouch", Sonya cried, rubbing the back of her neck while glaring at Karo.

It wasn't a long drive to Omsk, a little under an hour. It was naturally nothing compared to the road awaiting us. More than 40 hours on the train to Irkutsk and about three more hours by bus to St. Basil's, we arrived exhausted and woozy on early morning of September the first. Luckily, classes for my sisters and introductory day for me were to start in the evening, according to the Moroi schedule. _Goodbye sunlight_ , I thought as I glanced at the bright light of the rising sun. When at home we had no reasons to live by night and sleep by day, but here our lives were adjusted to the needs of the Moroi. _They come first_ , a mantra Karo has been repeating over and over on her first Christmas break, became clearer to me the more I've grown.

As soon as I was given the keys to my room, I parted with Karo and Sonya and hurried off with my bag over my shoulder, pushing my way down the crowded hallways which were quickly filling with other students. I just wanted to find my room, get to my bed and collapse until the evening comes. _208, 208, 208, finally!_

I was just about to grab the knob when the door flew open and boy ran into me, almost knocking me down. He surprised me, not just because of his sudden appearance, but because he was shorter and skinner than me yet, somehow, he possessed the strength to almost bulldoze through me. He took a step back, rubbing his forehead since it previously collided with my shoulder and glared at me with his nut brown eyes.

"What do you want?", he questioned, blocking my way in.

"To get to my room, if you don't mind", I responded calmly, gesturing towards the space behind him.

"Your-", he started before his face suddenly lit up and he gave me the widest grin I have ever seen on a person, "You must be Dimitri Belikov. Hi, I'm Leo Andreyev, your roommate."

"Umm, nice to meet you", I mumbled, shaking his hand before he moved aside to let me in.

"Sorry for, you know", he added, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "Guys have been knocking on my door all morning. I mean how hard can it be to find your damn room?"

"All morning?", I asked twirling around the room, uncertain which bed was supposed to be mine since Leo's things were scattered over both, "When did you arrive here?"

"Yesterday. Had to start my trip early. You never know if you're going to make in time traveling from Saint Petersburg", he laughed before he hurried to the bed next to the window and quickly picked up his stuff, "This one is yours, but I was just too tired yesterday to watch where I'm leaving my stuff."

"That's okay", I chuckled, dropping my bag next to the freed bed, "So you are from Saint Petersburg?"

"From a place close by, you?"

"Baia, near Omsk", I responded, slumping onto the edge of the bed.

"Cool", was all he said before silence settled in.

I glanced around the room, seeing it was quite spacious, well it was to me, since my room back home was pretty small. The walls were painted with a clean beige, it had two windows covered in the same colored curtains, one big round ceiling light and two lamps on the nightstand next our beds. The nightstands had two drawers each and we had two cupboards in the room intended for our clothes. It was more than enough packing space for me. The floor was covered in a wall-to-wall grey carpet. Leo's bed was across from mine and the door that led to the bathroom was right next to it. I considered taking a shower before I snuggled under the covers, but before I could even think about undoing the laces on my boots, Leo spoke up again: "So, do you want to go take a walk or something? I still didn't get a chance to check out the place."

I pondered on whether I should kindly refuse his offer, since I was tired enough to potentially collapse if I didn't get at least an hour of sleep. I hardly ever slept on trains. Actually, I hardly ever slept when I traveled with any type of transportation. I just felt oddly uncomfortable closing my eyes and relaxing in an unknown place with strangers all around me. Mama used to say it was my guardian instinct already coming to the surface, it was in my blood, the tension I felt when I wasn't familiar with my surroundings.

Leo gave me a questioning look, obviously baffled by my long silence. This is the person I'm supposed to live with through the whole schoolyear, maybe even next year. It'd be nice to get to know him, nice to make some friends. _You can't be a loner forever Dimka,_ Sonya's voice rang through my head. She was right, I can't and honestly I was starting to think I didn't want to be. Karo and Sonya were full of stories when they came home for summer, taking about their friends, the fun they had while they weren't studying. It was the first time I felt the absence of having someone other than my family to share my days, life and stories with. I wasn't sure just yet if I liked Leo or not, but it was only fair to both him and me if I gave our potential friendship a shot.

"Sure", I finally said, deciding I'll sleep when I'm dead.

From the moment we left our room Leo opened his mouth, showering me with so many words I was starting to feel dizzy, and forgot to close it until we've walked a full circle around the school grounds. He was very talkative, but then again, compared to me a marble statue was very talkative. I mostly listened to him while I glanced around the paths we took. Upon exiting the male Dhampir dormitory we stuck to the path going forward. By the time we reached the cafeteria and passed the feeders quarters he already managed to tell me all about his family. His father was a biologist and his mother worked in a flower shop. They met when his father was buying flowers for his former girlfriend who was, in the exact words that Leo put it, some stuck-up Royal. His girlfriend and her entire family always looked down on him, because he was just a plain Moroi. From the day he first set his foot in Leo's mother's shop, he was mesmerized by her beauty. At some point when he got sick and tired of his girlfriend he broke things off with her, but continued to go to the shop every single day, buying flowers which he would hand to the first lady on the street, just so he could talk to Leo's mother. He kept doing it until she agreed to go out on a date with him and the rest is history. They were still madly in love and lived together in a small town near Saint Petersburg.

Strolling between the guardian's quarters and offices behind the cafeteria we reached the male Moroi dormitory which was two times the size of ours. It seemed logical, since there were always far less guardians than Moroi, a constant problem of our society I was told. Aside from the size, the building looked pretty much the same as ours, though I somehow had a feeling it was very much different on the inside. All the buildings on the grounds looked similar from the outside, all built in a semi gothic style, honestly looking slightly ominous under the light of the now grey sky. The sun has disappeared behind the clouds and the wind became harsher, but it was bearable enough, especially for our bodies warmed by walking.

We rounded the corner and passed by the novices training grounds while Leo talked about his older brother Mikhail who was also attending Saint Basil's. He was Karolina's age and was a raging pain in the ass as far as Leo was concerned. One look at him though and I could see just how much he actually admired and loved him. Besides, I'm pretty sure nobody would talk so much about someone who annoys them all the way to the female Moroi dormitory.

"Do you have any siblings?", he remembered to ask after my silence remind unbroken for solid twenty minutes.

"Two, two sisters, Sonya who is one year older than me and Karolina who is as old as your brother", I responded, glancing up at the window on the second floor of the dormitory.

The window was inches away from thick and long branches of a large tree. The curtains on it were drawn and it looked just like any other window on the buildings we've passed, but something about it got my attention, pulled me, like a magnet. It was a strange feeling, like I just had this urging desire to climb up to it and take a look inside. Naturally, I would never do such a thing, it wasn't in my nature to barge uninvited somewhere, especially not into some random girls room.

"That's cool", Leo said following my fixed gaze for a second before prolonging his steps towards the church upfront, "Must be a drag though, living with two girls. I'd probably off myself more quickly then I will for sharing a room with Misha."

"Plus side", I chuckled, "The two of them share a room and mine is a no girls zone."

"Awesome", Leo exclaimed as he stumbled to the side, scraping his hand against a wall of a building that had a sign reading infirmary.

Next to it was another guardian facilities building and across from us magnificently stood a small, but beautiful church. He rubbed his hand and glared at the wall like it was its fault that it was built there and stood in his way. I smiled into my chin and realized that despite his blabbing, Leo was a fun guy to be around. He had this strange presence about him, a little chaotic, but bright. He seemed like a good guy and he had an honest smile. I liked him, maybe exactly because he we were so very unlike.

"Oh look, awesome", Leo voiced, pointing up ahead.

I followed the direction of his index finger to a glass structure right behind the church. I instantly knew what it was since every window was covered in green leafs and colorful flowers. Leo's pace sped up as he excitedly added: "We have a freaking indoors garden. My dad would love this."

Leo's happiness slightly rubbed off on me and I felt my lips stretching into a small smile as he danced around the glass peeking inside. I joined offering: "You want to go in?"

"No time, it's almost lunch and I'm famished. But we could go later if we get a chance."

"Sure", I confirmed, cutting the trip short by avoiding the road to the female Dhampir dormitory and heading straight towards what Leo informed me was a ceremonial hall, used for school dances, introductory days and other special occasion purposes.

"So what do your parents do?", Leo suddenly asked.

"My mom works as a sort of a doctor in our community. She has medical training", I mumbled out as my eyes met the cafeteria doors again.

"You live in a commune?"

I nodded before he added: "And your dad?"

I swallowed a gulp, nervously rubbing my shoulder. He talked about his father with such respect and love. He knew everything about his life, work, hobbies. Me, I didn't know the first thing about the man who was my father, except what he looked like and that fact that I've decided a year ago when I saw him for the first and for now the last time, that I didn't even like him, let alone have strong feeling towards him. Luckily, as I searched for something to say somebody called out to Leo. We both glanced back to a tall figure jogging towards us.

"Hey little brother", he said when he reached us, "What's up?"

It would be hard to miss that they're brothers. Mikhail and Leo shared a lot of resemblances, like the color and shape of their eyes, their straight noses, with narrow nostrils and slightly pointy tips, thin lips and well defined face lines despite the fact that they were both still boys. Mikhail hair was slightly lighter than Leo's though, a russet brown and he was visibly taller, my height, thought I was admittedly pretty high for my age already.

"Nothing", Leo responded in a casual tone, "Just making friends."

"I can see that", Mikhail said offering me his hand, "Mikhail Andreyev, you can call me Misha."

"Dimitri Belikov", I replied before I thought to add, "My family calls me Dimka."

"Nice to meet you Dimka, I hope my brother is not killing you with his blabbing", he chuckled before Leo punched his arm and gave him a death stare.

"No, we are getting along just fine", I reassured him, feeling bad for Leo whose cheeks turned a few shades pinker while he peered up at me.

"Well then I'm sorry to poop the party, but I need to steal this little nuisance that is related to me for a few minutes", he laughed before adding to Leo, "Some of your stuff winded up in my bag, so you have to stop by my room and pick it up, Grisha is already giving me hell over the space I've taken up with my things."

"Whatever", Leo mumbled as Mikhail waved at me and repeated: "It was really nice meeting you. See you around."

"I'll catch up with you later", Leo added to me, giving me an awkward smile before he took off after his brother.

Left alone I pondered on where I should go next. The walk and the cool air woke me up enough to make the idea of going to bed less attractive. My stomach grumbled, like on cue, letting me know that I too was famished. Minutes later I found my way to the cafeteria, registering that obviously most of the students have arrived in the meantime, since it was packed, a mix of voices, laughter and clatter of dishes ringing through my ears and the smell of various food filling my nostrils. The space was large and open, two walls almost completely made of tinted glass, as Moroi windows usually were, but allowing plenty of light inside. Not that there was a lack of light to begin with. The ceiling was covered in bright lights, their color giving off a natural feel. The tables in the middle were similar to the ones I've noticed outside, though it was beyond me why anyone would eat their meals freezing in front of the cafeteria since most of the schoolyear consisted of months with low temperatures. They had thin round table tops and were surrounded by plastic chairs. They looked pretty modern, which didn't surprise me since the whole building was the most modern one on the campus. Placed next to the window-walls were smaller, rectangular tables with four chairs surrounding each of them.

I turned to look over at the other side, finding the source of the delicious smells. A long row of food counters took up most of the space opposite of the tables, an all-you-can-eat buffet with plenty of dishes, some which I've never even seen in my life. I wasn't sure what to take so I grabbed a tray and slid it slowly across the counter picking a few things to try, before I turned towards the tables again and scanned them carefully. My eyes quickly found Karo and Sonya, sitting with a group of girls around the table in the middle. For a moment I thought about joining them, but being around two girls all the time was enough. My thoughts ran back to Leo's statement about offing himself. Seeing the way they were all giggling and talking so very loudly, I began seeing his point.

My eyes darted across the smaller tables next, until they finally settled on a lonely boy sitting in the very corner of the cafeteria. He was a Moroi, seemingly around my age, with blond hair and the color of eyes I couldn't make out from where I was standing. He was staring down at his plate with such concentration I was beginning to think he wanted to move it with his mind. He rolled a fork between his fingers, lifting it over the food every so often, but never pocking anything with it. He was the only person sitting alone and so, after a few moments, I walked up to the chair positioned across from him and sat down. His eyes shot up as I did and I realized my earlier distance wasn't the only reason their color was hard to make out. They were quite unusual, since the area just around the pupil was a sky blue color, a thin light circle that melted into an ocean blue, a dark, deep ocean fit into his irises which ended in a ring of such a dark shade that it almost seemed black. He studied me carefully before he simply peeped: "Hi."

He proceeded to clear his throat, his cheeks barely visibly gaining color, since he was obviously embarrassed by how his voice came out.

"Hello", I greeted him back before I asked, "You don't mind me sitting here?"

"No, not at all", he reassured me, his voice now back to what I was guessing was a normal tone for him, "Ivan Zeklos."

 _Zeklos?_ So he was a Royal. I've never met a Royal before. I have to admit I always expected their special bloodlines to be somehow obvious on first glance, like through the way they carried themselves or the way they talked. And although there were some telltales like his light eyes and his rich clothes, such things weren't exclusive to Royals only so they didn't make him stand out. I peered at the hand he offered me, before extending mine and gripping his fingers tightly.

"Dimitri Belikov."

"Woah", he breathed out as he pulled back, "Strong handshake you got there, Dimitri."

"Sorry", I instinctively apologized as he curled and uncurled his fingers.

"No worries", he chuckled, getting a hold of his fork again, "At least now I know straight away I should never mess with you."

I laughed which caused the smile on his face to grow. He glanced down at his plate and began pushing his food over it. I started in on my meal, chewing slowly as I studied him. His expression shifted back to that same concentrated look he had earlier, the smile slowly fading and his eyes filling with something that looked like panic. Though sitting in silence with him actually felt kind of comforting, I suddenly felt the urge to go all _Leo_ on him.

"Is this your first year too?", I questioned, words just sort of spilling out of my mouth.

"Yeah", he breathed out, now completely abandoning his plate.

"Are you excited?", I prompted, reminding myself of Mark's question to which I had no desire to answer positively.

"You could say that", he laughed humorlessly, "Actually, I'm kind of nervous."

"You are not the only one."

My statement seemed to have awoken something within him since suddenly it felt like the barrier that was preventing him from speaking so far, some intangible mental blockage, disappeared and he began babbling: "I'm super nervous, like I don't remember being so nervous about anything in my life. I don't know why really. I mean I do for some parts, like the fact that I'm kind of freaked out about not fitting in since I didn't actually hang out with a lot of people my age growing up, because we moved a lot, my family and I, which really didn't give me a lot of chances to make long-term friendships and I would like that, you know to have at least like one good friend or else school will really suck and-."

He's voice trailed off when he registered the amused stare I gave him. He bit his lower lip before mumbling more to himself than me: "I should probably shut up before you start thinking I'm a lunatic."

"Too late", I teased him, feeling this strange ease when it came to talking with him.

He burst into laughter, actually bending over at some point to clutch to his stomach. When tears sprang to his eyes he straitened back up and managed to mutter: "Thank you Dimitri. I really needed that."

"You are welcome", I replied before somebody's movement's right behind Ivan dragged my attention.

"Replacing me so soon", Leo joked placing his tray next to Ivan's, "I'm heartbroken."

"You are pretty irreplaceable Leo", I chuckled before introducing my two newly made friends, "Leo this is Ivan, Ivan, Leo."

They shook hands while Ivan rubbed his eyes to get them back to normal. We finished lunch after about twenty minutes, well actually Ivan and I finished within like three and the rest of the time we waited for Leo to accomplish the same. He was a fast eater when he actually remembered to chew. His constant talking is what prevented that activity mostly. Once we did we disposed of our trays and headed together towards the ceremony hall since the introductory was apparently beginning earlier than planned.

The whole event was pretty much the way I expected it to be. The headmaster spoke first, welcoming us to the school, talking about its history and present, about the values of our society and its youth. He was a slim and tall man, his age evident from the wrinkles on his forehead and around his eyes. His short hair was snow white and it seemed so soft I bet it felt like he was touching feathers every time he ran his hand through it, which he did, very often. His dark eyes were hidden behind silver framed glasses and he had a short beard.

Many professors and instructors introduced themselves as well, talking about the subjects they taught, about the importance of gaining knowledge. One that particularly stood out was a Dhampir instructor named Galina Malikova. She was remarkably beautiful and seemed to be one of the youngest members of the staff. She stood closest to me and her short honey colored hair was pulled back into a ponytail of loose curls, so I could see her face well. Long and thick lashes rounded her blue eyes with golden rims around the pupils perfectly. Her eyes slightly reminded me of Ivan's, thought they were a lot lighter than his. Her cheekbones were high, her nose flawlessly straight and her lips a rich pink color. She carried herself with elegance and patience, radiating confidence even though this was her first year as a mentor as she proudly announced.

When all the speeches ended we were given some time to mingle and meet our future classmates. I stuck with Leo and Ivan, seeing they too didn't have the intention of seeking other acquaintances. The time was almost up when a boy walked up to us. He pushed his platinum hair out of his muddy green eyes while his mouth twitched into a sneer.

"Zeklos, right?", he addressed Ivan who seemed baffled by his approach.

"Um, yeah", Ivan mumbled as the guy grabbed his hand and shook it.

"Antony Drozdov", he offered, "We've passed each other by in the Court a few times while you were still a resident there."

Ivan absently nodded, like he was simply acknowledging the fact that they've seen each other before, which made Antony crumple his nose in annoyance for not being recognized. He quickly shifted his gaze to me, scanning me from head to toe before Ivan remembered to do us all the honor of introducing us to this guy who I didn't like even before I learned his name.

"This is Dimitri Belikov and Leo-", Ivan stopped frowning upon the realization he never caught Leo's last name.

"Andreyev", Leo finished as Antony crossed his arms on his chest, obviously not planning to grace us with a handshake as well.

"Leonid?", Antony asked, his face shifting into an expression that almost seemed like he was disgusted by the very fact that he had to talk to him.

"No, just Leo", Leo corrected while peering at him with a mirroring expression.

"Pleasure", he coughed out, though I was sure it was anything but, before he turned back to Ivan and added, "Some other Moroi and I will be hanging out in the dormitory before dinner. Come join us."

"Thank you, but I already have another invitation", Ivan politely responded though Antony's "invitation" sounded a lot more like an order to me, "Some other time though."

"Sure", Antony spat, "You know where we'll be if you change your mind."

With that he turned on his heel and walked away. As soon as he was out of earshot Leo muttered into his chin: "What a dick."

"Yeah", Ivan confirmed, as his eyes watched the back of Antony's head, "Hope I can hang with you guys, since I'd rather do pretty much anything than join him and his friends."

"What about your other invitation?", Leo asked, making Ivan and I exchange glanced before we began laughing.

He kept asking "what?" as we tried to calm down, so I finally managed to peep: "We are the other invitation, dumbass!"

He let out an "oh" as Ivan tapped his shoulder and headed towards the exit. We tumbled out together, though Ivan and Leo were one step ahead of me, heatedly talking about a topic I didn't even bother to try to follow. Instead I spaced out, thinking about how crazy the past couple of days have been. Now I understood perfectly why my sisters were so excited over school. It was certainly a lot to take in. It almost seemed like our home belong to a different universe. Thinking of home I remembered how nervous I felt about my first day. I was pretty pessimistic, but life obviously decided to surprise me. I thought it would take me days to strike a conversation with someone, let alone get friendly. Watching Leo's and Ivan's heads bobbing in front of me I smiled. _Not bad, Dimitri!_

* * *

 **Here it is folks, chapter two! Wow, I have to admit I wasn't expecting such a good reception for this story, so I was surprised by many views and such lovely reviews the first chapter got! Thank you all for that! I hope it doesn't disappoint! I'll try to do my best with this one.**

 **As you might have noticed a lot of details from this chapter were created by my wild imagination. I actually realized that the information about the people from Dimitri's life before VA, about his school etc. is very scarce in VA so I took the liberty of playing around with a lot of that!**

 **Since my last AN was too long already, I skipped the part about chapter's titles! So just like I did it for TAH, each chapter in this story will also be named after different songs, creating a sort of a story playlist! So far we've got:**

 **CH1 - Hello Cruel World by Bad Religion**

 **CH2 - Friends by Elton John**

 **And here is a little hint: The following two chapters will be named Family portrait (Pink) and When the levee breaks (Led Zeppelin), so you see if you can figure out what they'll be about (it's not really hard though)!**

 **Anyhow, thanks for reading, please do review and let me know what you think! Until the next time,**

 **Kisses T!**


	3. CH3 - Family Portrait

**Warning: This chapter will contain domestic violence: in Sonya's POV starting from the line "What are you doing?" to "Looking for this?" and Olena's second POV will reference it in the paragraphs starting with "anger" and "this, tonight"! Feel free to skip it if you feel uncomfortable reading it!**

* * *

 **POV: Olena**

 **August 1980., Omsk**

Being in a class with humans was strange. We weren't that much different, yet it was like we came from completely different planets. Though our worlds and our lives were very unlike, when it came down to the simplicity of being living beings the lines of the borders between us and them became rather blurred. Birth, death, survival it was all pretty much the same.

"The typical signs are fatigue, cold sweat-", our instructor explained as Maya kicked my chair.

I turned around to look at her and she quickly flashed me a smile before she handed me a note. I curled my palm around the piece of paper that I was handed, before gingerly unfolding it, trying to make as less noise as possible. Her messy handwriting appeared before my eyes in a form of an invitation. _Drink with some friends after class, you in?_ I didn't turn back around since I could feel her eyes on the back of my head, a simply nod would suffice. She let out a satisfied "humph", before letting me pay my attention back to the lecture.

I had no idea why Maya was getting medical training. She wasn't planning to be a nurse or do anything related to it and she wasn't exactly look for any kind of independency. She was engaged to a wealthy Moroi, a Royal nonetheless and, as she put it, her only job was "to be pretty and give him kids", which she was more than satisfied with. I was surprised when she first mentioned him, though it wasn't unheard of, it was very rare for Royals to marry Dhampir. Harry Dashkov was a fine man, a bit boring and plain looking, but kind and clearly in love with Maya. I wasn't certain his love was reciprocated, but who was I to judge anyone.

As soon as we were dismissed, Maya grabbed her things and hooked her arm around mine, literally dragging me outside. She excitedly breathed out: "My God, I can't wait for us to get there. You are going to love the place."

I highly doubted I would, knowing the types of place Maya usually picked, but I gave her a small smile, not wanting to ruin her good mood. I had to admit though that I was surprised to actually find the place way better than I expected it to be when we finally reached it. It was a small bar, with dimmed lights and jazz music softly playing in the background. It was also pretty luxurious, which is why I slowed my steps as we approached the door and looked at Maya with a dose of panic, mumbling: "I'm not sure I can afford-."

"Don't", she cut in shaking her head, "How many times do I have to tell you to stop worrying about such trivial things? Besides, I'm sure the gentleman joining us will literally fight over who's going to buy you a drink."

"Maya, I don't really feel comfortable with unknown men paying for my drinks", I argued as she pulled the door open for me.

"Well they won't be unknown when I introduce you to them", she prompted basically pushing me inside, "Problem solved."

When the door closed behind us and Maya waved at Harry, I knew there were no chances of me escaping this anymore. So I shyly tagged along, hiding behind Maya's explosive personality and vibrant movements. She threw herself in Harry's arms as he stood up to greet us, shamelessly kissing him for a few moments before she moved aside to let me come closer to the table.

"Hello Olena", Harry said giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hi Harry", I replied as Maya pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Olena, this is Robert Dawson, my colleague", he announced gesturing towards the man who sat next to him.

The man looked older than Harry which would put him in his mid-thirties. He was dressed in a suit and his hair was glided back perfectly. He gave me a tight smile before Harry moved on to the man who sat across from them. The moment my eyes landed on him I felt my cheeks blushing. He was remarkably handsome, in his late twenties and giving me the kind of look that made me feel like I was the most beautiful girl in the world. The look was hypnotizing, but more than that, his eyes were hard not to stare at. They were a beautiful deep emerald color, shining brighter than the moon outside, swallowing me in their depths.

"And that is Randall Ivashkov, our business partner", Harry supplied as the man with the mesmerizing eyes stood up, taking my hand and placing a gentle kiss on top of it while bowing slightly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Olena", Randall spoke in a voice that was like a symphony, "Harry has done you no justice when he described you."

"Slow down Darling", Maya giggled playfully tugging Randall back into his seat, "Olena is a shy little flower, you'll scare her away."

I was so taken by his words that mine didn't make it out of my mouth as Harry motioned for me to sit. My seat was between Randall and Robert which led me to believe Maya was setting me up with one of them. She did go on and on about how I should find myself a man ever since we became friends, so I couldn't really say I was surprised. I tried explaining to her how I did have a man, sort of. Not that it was any use since Maya had a tendency of ignoring people unless they were saying something she agreed with. Yura, was the man I was referring to, we've been involved for years, though I wouldn't exactly introduce him to anyone as my boyfriend. He lived in Baia and we've met when I was still in high school. He was a few years older than me, also a Dhampir and he worked in his father's woodshop. He was a good guy, a guy like Harry. He also didn't exactly take my breath away as I'm sure it was the case for Maya and her soon to be husband. I think he loved me, I really did, but though I cared for him a lot, I couldn't picture spending the rest of my life with him. Especially because I wanted to be a mother, I wanted it very much and Yura could in no way give me children.

I moved around Randall and settled down, feeling extremely aware of the lingering look he gave me. It made me warm all over. It was as if he was running the tips of his fingers over my flesh, slowly, intoxicatingly, yet his hands were nowhere even near me. Light chitchat erupted over the table as I stared at some random spot on the wall trying to compose myself. _What is wrong with you girl? Pull it together,_ my mind screamed at me, _it's not like this is the first time you've met a good looking man._

"So Olena, what do you do?", Robert asked, sipping on his whiskey leisurely.

"I'm, um, I'm training to become a nurse", I stammered shifting my gaze to his light brown eyes, "Like Maya."

Luckily the waiter appeared in that moment giving me a much needed break from my thoughts. Maya ordered a cocktail, while I asked for a double vodka. It wasn't a very ladylike thing to do, but before I could change my mind I heard Randall softly whistle.

"A woman that can hold her liquor, I'm even more impressed Olena", he chuckled, my name slipping off his tongue like it was made only for him to speak it, "Or should I say Shy Little Flower?"

He gave Maya a wink and a smile before he added: "Though I think shy and little should be replaced by beautiful."

 _Was I ever going to come up with a response to this man's words_? I was beginning to look like an idiot, smiling and blushing in circles as I wordlessly stared at him. Maya wiggled her eyebrows when he wasn't looking, clearly satisfied by his interest in me and his grand compliments. Looking over at the other side of the table I noticed Harry smiling behind the edge of his glass, which he glued to his face so he could hide his expression. It wasn't a mocking smile, Harry didn't do those. It was his way of expressing he too was satisfied with the way things were going, but unlike Maya he knew how to do such a thing discreetly.

"And where do you live?", Robert asked, completely oblivious to the tension building up, especially since Randall shifted his chair so that it allowed him to be closer to me.

The decline of the distance between us sent shivers down my spine, while I fought to keep my voice steady and respond calmly: "I currently live in a small apartment near the school, but I'm just staying there until I finish my course. After that I'll be going back to my hometown."

"Which is-?", Robert promoted.

"Baia", I replied watching his eyes narrow and a strange smirk appear on his face.

"So you live in a commune", he concluded, his eyes moving away from me in a way that made me think he was disappointed.

"Yes, I do", I said in a sharp tone, pulling my shoulders back so I'd show no shame over my origin and birthplace, "As most Dhampir do before they become guardians."

"You are to be a guardian?", Randall suddenly voiced, his eyes, unlike Robert's, only fixing on me harder.

"Well, I've finished training a few years ago, but no, I doubt it", I elaborated as the waiter placed Maya's and mine glass on the table, pausing to thank him before I added, "I trained in Saint Basil's, but I did it more for the purpose of self-protection and protection of the people of Baia. It is much needed, since Strigoi attacks aren't as scarce as we'd like them to be."

"That's very noble of you", Randall commented, playing with his napkin that lay inches away from the hand I've laid on the table, "Working to protect the people who can't even pay you for it."

"And very stupid", I thought I heard Robert mumble, but I've decided to pay him no attention, since he sure as hell didn't deserve it.

"You could look at it that way I guess. However, I'm getting medical training with the intention of making it my primary profession", I stressed while taking a sip of my drink, "It's my way of earning money enough to live a normal life, just like everyone else."

"Someone like you deserves better than normal", Randall spoke in a hushed voice, but loud enough to be heard at least by Maya and me.

The night went by fast, too fast. When it was time to go I wished the moon would stick around for a few more hours, just so that I could sit and talk to this charming man more. While we were leaving the bar, Maya rushed up to me, hugging me and excitedly whispering into my ear: "I think Randall likes you."

I just giggled into her shoulder and hugged her back before the men joined us and Harry pointed towards his car asking: "I'm there, who's riding with us?"

Robert mumbled something into his chin that seemed like a confirmation he was taking one of the seats which made my decision strengthen.

"I think I'm going to take a walk, but thank you for the offer Harry."

"Are you sure? You shouldn't be alone at this time of night", Harry wondered with a dose of worry crossing his face.

"I'm sure she can handle herself Harry", Randall was the one to reassure him, "Besides, she won't be alone. I'll be walking the lovely lady home."

I peered over my shoulder at him in surprise. He flashed me a smile before he took a few steps towards me and offered me his hand: "Shall we, Beautiful Flower?"

I was going to tell him that he didn't have to walk me, I didn't want to cause him any discomfort, but Maya cut me to it, saying the complete opposite: "That's lovely Randall. You should get going than. Enjoy your, um, walk."

His hand still lingered in the air so I took it, not wanting to leave him hanging and he tugged me closer, pulling my arm under his and wrapping it around his elbow. We said our goodbyes and started walking as Harry's car roared to life and drew away in the other direction. It wasn't a long walk, but to me it felt like an eternity. I got so lost in his words, his eyes, his touch, that I almost missed my building. It wasn't until I registered the window of my apartment, which was almost left behind us, that I stopped and nudged him to change direction.

"This is me", I said pointing towards the second floor as the light of the entrance bathed us, making our silhouettes dance across the pavement.

"That's a shame", Randall sang glancing up the building, "I wish your apartment was further away."

"Me too", I found myself saying before I could stop my mind from spilling its thoughts.

Randall gave me an amused look before he stepped closer, his lips a breath away from mine: "When can I see you again my Beautiful Flower?"

 _My_? It was a bold thing to say, but in the same time it felt right and on point. It felt like I've always been his, like I was made for him and like I will forever stay his. I have never in my life been so bewitched by someone so I wasn't surprised when my lips moved to mumble: "Whenever you want."

"Whenever I want?", he questioned his lips now almost touching mine.

I nodded, as my breathing halted. His eyes sparked and he moved suddenly, but his lips landed on my cheek, close to my lips, but still not quite there. He moved away and whispered: "Good."

With a nod he pulled the handle and patiently waited for me to remember how to move my limbs before I unsteadily walked in. I glanced at him managing to say "goodnight" before the door closed between us. A strange smile lingered on his lips while I walked up the stair, peering over my shoulder at him the entire time.

When I found my way to my apartment, I could finally breathe again, though my heart was thumping fast and my skin felt warm where his lips touched it. I took off my жакет, hanging it next to the entrance and leaned against the hard wood behind me, closing my eyes and seeing those shiny emeralds playing under my eyelids. A strong knock on the door almost gave me heart attack. I jumped up before I slowly turned around and stared at its surface. With a frown I carefully cracked it open.

"Randall?", I breathed out as a smile danced on his lips.

"You said I could see you whenever I want", he announced placing his hand on the frame of the door while leaning in, "I wanted it now."

I let go of the door and it slammed into the wall opening widely. His eyebrow shot up as if he was wordlessly asking whether he should step inside. I don't know where I got the courage, but instead of responding I grabbed the front of his cardigan and pulled him into a kiss I've been waiting for the entire night.

 _He came in_.

 **POV: Sonya**

 **August 1992., Baia**

 _He came out_.

I saw him adjusting his tie, fumbling with a few buttons left undone on the top of his shirt while mama's door closed behind him. He came to the house a few hours ago and mama hid him away in her room almost instantly, probably trying to avoid angering babushka. She only left the room once since she closed the door behind them. She came out when she went to get a bottle from the basement, her cheeks flushed and her hair a little messy. I wondered what they were doing while they were together. When in front of us they almost seemed like strangers, their conversations strained and short. Our father, however, would spend a lot of hours alone with mama and it always made me believe that they must have had something in common, something to do or talk about when away from other's eyes and ears.

He's heavy footsteps echoed through the house and I wiggled under my blanket, allowing only my nose and eyes to stick out from underneath it. I was supposed to be asleep, but I felt restless the entire night. It was almost morning, the soft light appeared on the horizon, making the room around me brighten up slightly and I knew what that meant. It meant that he was leaving again. I didn't want him to leave. I wanted to spend some time with him, get to know him. Maybe then I wouldn't constantly feel like there was something missing. Like a part of me that I myself wasn't introduced to. The other part of my being, my blood, my genes, my personality, that other part that belonged to the man who came around only for a few hours at unexpected times. The man who sometimes brought us gifts that I collected and kept safe under my bed.

I don't think my siblings shared my desires. Karo would instantly go to our room the minute his foot would cross the threshold and wouldn't come out until he was gone. She kept the few things that he has given her in a box in the basement, never taking the time to look at them and hold them while he was away. Dimka would go out, he'd spend hours walking around our house, around the town center, he'd go to visit Mark and Oksana or simply sit on the fallen tree trunk in the patch of woods under our house. He only got a gift once, some toy that looked very expensive and modern. He threw it in a trashcan as soon as he got the chance. I never told him that his toy didn't go out with the rest of the garbage, but that I took it when he wasn't looking and I stashed it with my things. Perhaps someday he'll thank me for that.

I was good at hiding things, really good. I had to learn to do it since Karo would often use them without asking. In all fairness, most of those things belonged to her before they found their way into my possessions, but I hated sharing, so I selfishly placed them where she couldn't find them. It is because I was good at hiding things that I condemned my family to the events of this early morning that they'll never forget.

"What are you doing?", mama's hushed voice traveled through the house, notifying me she too has joined our father downstairs.

"Where is it?", he asked, not bothering to keep his own voice down.

"Where is what?"

"Where is my damn coat?", he hissed as his shoes hurriedly crossed over the floor, the sound notifying me that he was walking back and forth in search of his lost piece of clothing.

"It's probably where you left it", mama chuckled before I heard a bang, like somebody hitting a wall with their palm.

"You think this is funny? It's not where I left it, it's not because somebody took it", he growled his voice sounding closer.

"Randall there is no need to get worked up about-, where are you going?"

"That little brat took it. I guarantee it. He is always causing trouble. An ungrateful little piece of-", he blurted as he stormed past my door and opened the one opposite of it.

"Randall don't, leave him be", I heard mama's pleas as Dimka's shocked and sleepy protest cracked through the night.

"Where is my fucking coat?", Randall shouted ignoring mama as mix of taps, bangs and scratching followed his words.

The noise must have been caused by Dimitri as he was obviously dragged right out of his bed. I heard him breathed out: "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid. I know it's you who took it!", Randall warned as I pushed the covers away and rushed to peek through the door into Dimitri's room, "If you need a fucking coat ask your mother for it, don't steal from others."

"Why would I ever take your coat?", Dimitri argued shaking out of Randall's grip, "It wouldn't fit anyway."

"Stop lying! TELL ME WHERE IT IS!", Randall's voice became so loud I thought it could be heard from miles away.

It's what finally woke Karolina up, since so far she's been comatose. She was a very tight sleeper. She sat up in her bed and muttered: "What's happening?"

I turned around and pressed my index finger against my lips to shush her before taking another peek at the scene on the other side of the hallway.

"I don't know", Dimka cried out as Randall pushed him into a corner between his bed and the nightstand.

"Well I'll just have to beat it out of you, won't I?", Randall spat before he towered over Dimka and lifted his arm.

I stopped breathing as he did, realizing the mess I have created. Before I could even begin to think about what I should do to rectify this, mama rushed towards Randall and cried: "Leave him-!"

She never finished her sentence because the hand he held up flew backwards, slapping her hard against her face. She tumbled back and I watched in horror as he turned towards her, his eyes blazing. I rushed towards my bed as Karolina got out of hers and kneeled, grabbing the rich fabric underneath it and tugging it out. It was so big and heavy that it made it hard for me to move, but I managed to barrel out of the room and run into the light. Dimitri moved out of the corner in the meantime, curling his hands into fists as he prepared to attack. If he managed to start a fight with our father I'm sure he'd lose, because despite his extreme height for an eight-year-old, Randall was higher, stronger and scarier. He didn't get his chance though since I wiggled between mama and Randall, holding up his coat while tears sprung to my eyes.

"I'm sorry, I did it, I'm sorry", I babbled as Randall's eyes fell to me, "I just wanted you to stay, I just wanted you to stay awhile longer. I thought you would until your coat was found."

He grinned wickedly and I was sure he wanted to hit me too now or shout at me as much as he did on Dimka, but than my grandmother's cough came from behind us. I glanced back, seeing Karo was standing right next to her, clutching to her nightgown as she nervously watched Randall.

"And what are you all doing at this ungodly hour?", Yeva calmly questioned as everyone else became paralyzed.

Randall's face slowly shifted, it was visible, the restrain that he put into his muscles movements, as he fought to present Yeva with the calmest mask he could produce.

"Looking for this. It got lost in a little misunderstanding", he said as he lifted the coat out of my arms and threw it over his shoulder, adding to me in a sweet voice, "Next time darling girl, just tell me your wishes instead of worrying us all like this."

Dimka moved behind him, stepping closer to me. He was furious and he opened his mouth probably with the intention of saying something very rude, but Yeva's sharp glance stopped him from speaking. Randall seemed lost for a moment before he mumbled into his chin: "Right."

And then he was off. Leaving like he always did, without as much as a goodbye. Nobody but him moved though, not until Yeva squeezed Karo's shoulder and turned her around saying: "Back to bed."

"All of you", she added when mama finally shook out of her shock and grabbed my hand to lead me out.

As soon as the two of us were alone in the hallway a sob escaped me. I couldn't help it. I felt so guilty, so bad for doing what I did, I just wished I could turn back time and never come to the idea of taking Randall's coat. My sob made mama stop in her tracks and kneel down so that she could hug me.

"I'm sorry mama", I wept into her shoulder as she slid her palm gently over my hair, "I didn't mean to."

"It's alright Sonyushka, it's all alright", mama comforted me as her hold on me tightened, "It's not your fault, none of it is your fault."

All I could think about as she cuddled me in her arms was, _whose fault is it then?_

 **POV: Olena**

I've been lying to myself. I knew I have, but I couldn't help it. Which is why I somehow always found myself here, on the dusty road, where my feet shuffled through leafs that were tugged off the branches by the wind, where the grass smelled stronger than anywhere else, where I was alone in the silence while my mind screamed. Why I did this to myself over and over again I couldn't understand, it was like a stranger was taking over my body and mind when I needed them to work the most, driving me off the edge of a cliff or crashing me into a wall.

Twelve years, I've been ending up right here just like this for twelve years. It was because I was a stupid, little girl, foolish to think that I could get what I always dreamed of, naïve enough to trust the man with the charming smile, mesmerizing eyes and sweet lies that he uttered with every breath. I should have known, from the day I've met him, I should have known he was going to be like heroin. Addictive, giving me a rush every time I injected him into my bloodstream, but killing me, making me wither away slowly, but surely. How can something that feels so good be so deadly?

He wasn't always like this. He isn't always like this. It's what I'd tell myself every time he left me broken and defeated. But he was and he is, I was just too blind to see it before. It was the little things, the little things you don't even pay attention to, but as time goes by you find yourself replaying them in your head.

Drinking. It was the first thing I should have paid attention to. It was there right from the start, but I was young and I thought of it as fun. We'd drink together, tumbling down the streets of Omsk, laughing the night away. It never crossed my mind that I never drank when the sun was up, during the day, it would have been inappropriate. When night came, having a few drinks seemed like a normal thing to do, but as the sun went down his day began. It never crossed my mind that he was actually drinking even before he had breakfast sometimes. And the older we got the larger amounts he would consume.

Anger. Anger was the second. At the time I just thought of him as someone who had an explosive personality. He got worked up fast over nothing, but we couldn't all be the same, right? That time when he made a scene in the restaurant when the waiter accidentally spilled a glass of water into my lap, I just thought he was trying to be manly and defend his woman, even if it was from something as harmless as water. When he hit the man who was trying to flirt with me in a club, I told myself it was completely normal for him to be jealous of somebody wanting to take what is his. When we had our first fight and he punched a hole through a wall, I justified it by thinking I caused such behavior by crossing the line. And when he first slapped me, when I yelled at him for leaving me to raise Karolina alone, I ran out of excuses so I just accepted it to be the way it is. We couldn't always get along, could we? Then it happened again, again and again. What used to be just a tight hold on my arm was proven to be manhandling. What I used to consider him moving me out of the way was shoving. When he punched me instead of the wall, it became evident just how much I've been deluding myself. But the lying continued, only now I wasn't lying to myself as much as I was lying _for_ him, protecting our children from seeing the dark side of their father.

This, tonight, was the first time our children witnessed it, the first time I couldn't hide it. Actually, this was the first time Sonya and Karolina saw it. Dimka, oh my poor sweet Dimka, he was always there. Even when he wasn't in the same room I knew he was close by. He'd always do it when any stranger neared me, put himself in the way, to protect me even if he didn't know what he was protecting me from and why, ever since he could walk. And that's who Randall was to him, a stranger, his own father. I knew he heard the hits, I was sure he saw a few. I knew it took him so much self-control not to start a fight with Randall, not to start it because it wouldn't lead him to a victory, not at such a young age, not with someone so much stronger than him.

I should have never let him past the threshold on that warm August night. I should have never let him into my life. That's what I told myself sometimes. But then I'd always think of my beautiful darlings, the most precious beings on this earth. If it wasn't for him they never would have seen the light of day. It's the one good thing we've created.

A soft ruffle of leafs got me to look over my shoulder. The day has become bright enough now to allow me to see the person approaching me. Tears sprung to my eyes as soon as they fixed on the figure behind me, but I fought to keep them back. I didn't move or speak until he sat next to me on the tree trunk. It used to be my place only, the fallen tree that somehow withstood the passing of time, the wind, the rain, the snow, the sun, all of it, just staying almost unchanged even though it was separated from the things that kept it alive. Then I passed it on, I gave my special place to my special someone, which is why he knew exactly where to find me.

"Why?", was all he asked through a sigh.

"Why what Dimka?", I questioned like I didn't already know what he was referring to.

"Why do you let him do this to you mama?", he elaborated, his eyes skimming over the treetops above us, "Why do you let him come to our home?"

"Dimka he is your father-."

"No, he is not", he cut in angrily, his blazing eyes fixing on me, "He is nothing to me."

"Don't say that", I whispered reaching for his hand.

"Why? It's the truth", he argued, tensing up but not moving away when my fingers clasped his.

"He is you father Dimitri", I stressed and before he could interrupt me again added, "You don't have to like it, you don't have to like him, but you're made out of him as much as you are made out of me."

"He is evil mama, he is an evil man. If I'm made out of him than there is evil in me", he breathed out, his dark eyes filling with a mix of sadness and fury.

"No Dimka", I cried moving so that I could hug him, "You are the purest thing on this earth, there is no evil in you darling boy. You got the good parts, the good parts of him."

"I wasn't aware he had any", he mumbled into my chest.

"He does", I whispered having trouble believing my own words after everything that happened this morning, "There is good in him. He is trying."

"Trying?", Dimitri asked pulling out of my embrace, "He has to try to be good? It's not something people try, they are good or they are bad."

My son sometimes surprised me with his maturity. Sometimes I had a feeling he was ages older, that he was wiser than me even. But sometimes, it was evident how little he knew of the world, how much more he had to learn, to see, to feel so he can understand. He was forced to grow up too quickly, I knew he was and it was one of the things I regretted the most. There was no way to right that wrong, though I wished so very much there was.

"Not everything is so simple Dimka. The world and the people in it are not all white or black. There are a lot of shades of gray in-between. I'm not completely good and your father is not completely bad. We have our flaws, all of us."

"Why are you always justifying him?", Dimka shouted, jumping to his feet, "Why do you try to rationalize the things that make no sense?"

"Dimka-."

"No, no, I don't want to hear it anymore", he cut in backing away from me, "Babushka is right, you _are_ a fool. I hate him and I-."

"Dimka-", I tried again, but he turned and ran away.

The tears I was holding back spilled as I watched my son's back disappearing among the trees. He stopped himself from speaking. The words he was intending to say never made it out of his mouth because he stopped. Thank God he did. Nothing, not one thing in this world would have broken my heart as hard as that last line he left out would have. _I hate him_ , he said. I couldn't blame him, couldn't find fault in his feelings because Randall has never given him a chance to love him, never given him a chance to see those other sides I did, the sides that made me fall in love with him so many years ago. And though it hurt me to hear that is what the two of them have come to, it was nothing compared to the heartache that would have certainly come after the "and". I hate him. _And I hate you._

* * *

 **Chapter song: Family Portrait - Pink**

 **Translations: жакет - it's like a short jacket (if you look up the pictures you'll see what I'm taking about)!**

 **Huh, that was heavy, but admittedly not as much as the next chapter will be! I promise though after that the story will get lighter (at least for a while)! But I owe it to Dimitri to stay true to his original story as much as possible, so the Randall mess was unavoidable! It did after all play a big part in the shaping of his personality!**

 **I hope that you guys liked the chapter despite the hard topics and please do, as always, let me know what you think about it! Thanks for reading, until the next time,**

 **Kisses T!**


	4. CH4 - When The Levee Breaks

**WARNING: This chapter will contain domestic violence (Karolina's POV), dark thoughts and a dose of self-harm (Dimitri's POV)! Proceed with caution! The brighter part of the chapter comes after: "Dimka", Karo's muffled voice called out to me.**

* * *

 **POV: Karolina**

This is hell, there is no other way of explaining it and there is no changing it, it's just the way it is. Hell, luckily, never stuck around for long. Paradise settled in as soon as the door closed behind the shiny shoes and the expensive clothes that stunk of alcohol and women. The demon that came with the angry fire from the pit would take the evil and the rage with him, leaving the pieces of broken lives to be put back together, until the next time he decided to crawl back up.

" _I told you, I told you not to do it",_ he screamed at the top of his lungs as Sonya's sobs filled the house.

I pulled my knees up to my chin and buried my head into my arms as they formed a nest on top of my trembling legs. I just wanted it to stop. I wanted babushka to come back from the store now, right now, since she was the only one who could make this dreadful man go away. I prayed for her to hear my soundless cries for help, prayed for anyone to hear them.

" _Please, let's not do this, let's just sit and have a quiet meal_ ", my mother pleaded as well, but she was trying to ask the devil for kindness and he possessed none.

I heard a sharp slap and then somebody tumbling down. I dug my nails into my palms and I bit my lips to stop myself from crying. He was hitting her again, he was always doing it, sooner or later. In the moment the second slap came and mama uttered a small whimper while Sonya's sobs became louder, the door of my room flew open. I jumped up, some irrational part of me thinking that somehow Randall managed to duplicate himself and appear in my room as well, as a tall figure emerged from the dark hallway. I blinked up in panic, my heartbeats quickening and my breathing halting, before I recognized who the person before me was.

"Come with me right now", Dimka instructed, crossing the distance between us in a few long steps and offering me his hand.

I took it, allowing him to drag me to my feet and out of the room. He started leading me towards the stairs and that is when I took back control over my body, digging my feet into the floor and shaking my head frantically as he peered over his shoulder to see what was causing the sudden increase of force he needed to pull the weight behind him. He stopped, trying to give me a calm and reassuring look despite the urgency in his voice.

"I just need you to take Vika and move Sonya out of the way. I just need you to do that."

"No, no", I stammered in fear, staring past him wide-eyed as the roar of the madmen continued, "We need to wait for babushka. We need to-."

"Do you trust me Karo?", he whispered, suppressing the excitement in his voice as much as he could, "Do you?"

"Yes, but-."

"Then trust me when I tell you that I won't let anything bad happen to you. I won't let anything bad happened to my family. Now or ever again", he stressed, fixing my eyes with such intensity that it left me speechless.

I relaxed, enough to show him I won't pursue resistance anymore, enough to show him that I trusted him. He was my brother, Yeva always said he was the protector, the savior, so I'll let him protect, I'll let him save us from this torment. He nodded to me in a wordless understanding before he led me towards the living room. The closer we got, the more I felt like hell's flames were kissing my skin. It was all in my head, I was aware of it, but it still made goosebumps spread all over my skin. When we entered I held back a scream upon seeing what we've come to. Mama was sprawled on the floor before Randall, a pile of shards next to her, a pile made by a plate I knew Sonya broke. She was so clumsy, why did she have to be so clumsy? Viktoria was sitting in the corner of the room, her body curled in a little ball on the ground. Her hands lifted to cover her ears and her eyes shining from the tears that weld up in them.

"Fucking bitch", Randall muttered as I clutched to Dimitri who straightened up as much as he could, his wide shoulders blocking half of my view.

"Do what I asked you to", Dimka ordered as Randall's eyes sharply sliced through us.

"Ah, there he is", he exclaimed as Dimka took a step towards him and I motioned Vika to come to me.

She shook her head at first, but when I kneeled and opened my arms she crawled back to her feet and ran towards me, jumping into my embrace and clutching to me hard. I couldn't pick her up, so I squeezed her and then pealed her away from me, pushing her behind me as she slipped her hand in mine.

"Are you here to get your ass kicked again, boy?", Randall questioned as Dimitri clutched his hands into fists so hard his knuckles turned white.

The last time this happened, the last time one of us did something stupid when he was around, when he screamed and broke things, delivering blows to anything standing before him, Dimitri stood up to him. He actually managed to get a solid punch in before Randall crushed him. The bruise he left on Dimka's left eye took days to heal. It happened almost a year ago, but a lot has changed since then, Dimitri has changed since then. I saw him in school, saw him while he was training and putting in ten times the effort others did. He was trying, he was trying so hard that it got him well noticed, noticed enough for one of the instructors to take extra interest in him. Guardian Malikova requested to be his mentor, to help him pursue advanced training since he couldn't skip grades because of the other classes he had, though he was above average compared to his fellow classmates when it came to combat. He had double practice, group training with other novices his age and individual with Galina. He's gained a lot of muscle and as unbelievable as it sounds he actually hit a grow spurt which made him incredibly tall for a thirteen-year-old. I know how jealous it made his Moroi friends, since their genetics should have kept them above his height.

"It's time for you to leave", Dimitri calmly responded ignoring Randall's attempt at mockery.

"Oh and who is going to make me?", Randall questioned as Sonya finally noticed my waving and slowly backed away so she could join me and Viktoria.

"I am", Dimitri stressed, taking another step forwards as Sonya circled him and hugged my arm.

"You are?", Randall laughed like he has just heard the funniest joke ever, "Is that so? And how exactly are you going to do that?"

"Dimka", mama warned pulling herself up.

"No, no, stay out of this", Randall chuckled sneaking a peek at mama, "Let him answer, it ought to be fun."

Dimka kept his mouth shut, but I could see by the way he moved that he was preparing to attack. Mama, however, didn't listen to what she was told and she tried with her pleading again: "Randall, please, he is-."

"I said stay out of it bitch", he growled as mama stood up and managed to take one step back before his hands shot towards her, ready to push her back down.

It never came to that though, since he was the one flying towards the floor in the matter of seconds. Dimitri's fist colliding with his jaw is what caused him to fall. I thought that would be it. I thought he just wanted to show him that he meant what he said. Though I realized Dimitri was just getting started when he circled Randall's legs and reached for him.

"Never", Dimka roared, gripping the front of Randall's shirt with one hand while he lifted his other one into the air.

"Touch", he continued as his hand connected with Randall's cheek.

I heard Sonya gasp and felt Viktoria's head jab my waist as she hid her face into the fabric of my shirt. Mama walked backwards until she hit a wall and stayed paralyzed there, staring in shock at the scene in front of her.

"My", his fist struck the already reddened skin of our father face turning it a shade darker. "Mother", it was his eye this time and the skin began to crack. "Again", blood began trickling down his face.

Randall wasn't fighting back. I was confused by it until I realized he probably couldn't. Dimitir's blows were hard enough to cause a sick sound to spill through the room as his fist connected with Ranall's flesh and bones. They were hard enough for Randall to have to fight to breathe, let alone do much else. He did claw at Dimitri's grip on his shirt, trying to free himself, but it was in vain.

"You. Worthless. Piece. Of. Shit", Dimka growled between the punches as I watched Randall's face morph under the impact of the damage Dimitri was causing.

When he let go of him, Randall slumped back onto the floor and coughed, trying to roll away from Dimitri. He was gurgling from the blood forming in his mouth, spitting it on the floor as Dimitri picked him up and held him tight since he didn't show any signs of actually being capable of standing on his own two feet. I numbly registered I was in the way so I pulled Sonya and Vika aside to allow Dimitri to pass us by. He carried Randall to the front door and actually managed to keep him upright as he opened it. His voice dropped an octave while he leaned into Randall's face and spat out through gritted teeth: "If you ever, and I mean ever set a foot in this house again, I will personally break every bone in your body with my own bare hands. Do you understand me?"

He didn't even give him a chance to respond before he pushed him out, making him tumble down the stairs from the sound of it. Randall wailed as Dimitri turned around and slammed the door shut with his foot. His chest was heaving as he leaned against the door and pinched the bridge of his nose while he let out a long and unsteady breath. I couldn't take my eyes off him until I felt Vika pulling my sleeve. I looked down at her as she blinked and whispered: "Is it over now?"

"Ye-, yes", I stammered, "It's over Vika."

"Forever?"

I glanced back up at mama, then my brother and then the window next to which I stood, only to see Randall rolling on the ground as he tried to stand up, leaving red smudges on the stone path that led to our house. He never gave Dimka an answer, never promised not to set a foot in our house, but somehow I knew, I knew in that moment that my prayers from earlier have been answered, only not by Yeva, but by Dimitri. He said he will never let anything bad happen to his family now or ever again. I knew he'd stay true to his words. I knew he was truly our savior. So I found Vika's sweet little face again and I whispered: "Yes Viktoria, forever."

 **POV: Dimitri**

I locked the door and tugged my shirt off, throwing it onto the ground and skipping over it to reach the sink. I turned the tap to cold, the coldest it can get and splashed the freezing water onto my face and neck, letting it drizzle down my chest. I watched the reddened water disappear down the drain as my loud and ragged breaths echoed from the tiles on the walls. I grabbed a towel and pressed it against the back of my hand. I tried rubbing the blood off, but the more I dragged the towel over my knuckles the more the redness seemed to spread. My mind was drunk on hatred, so consumed by the rage that was wreaking havoc within my heart, that it took me solid ten minutes to realize why the blood wasn't going away. I registered the cuts, the places where my skin cracked from the impact it made with the man I almost beat to death.

 _Poison._ Yeva said it a long time ago. He was poison, his blood was poison. But his blood was my blood, so my blood was poison too. _There is evil in me_ , I told my mother years ago, I told her when she tried to show me that this monster had a loveable side. I wanted to rip it out, I wanted to rip him out of me forever. A wave of anger surged through me again. I grabbed my hair and pulled on it, growling at the reflection staring back at me from the mirror. _You are a monster, just like him,_ I could almost hear my reflection saying. I scratched the insides of my arms, like I could dig every part of him out with my nails. The angry red lines that appeared across my skin contrasted the blue veins popping out from underneath. _You can never escape it, never escape him, never escape yourself,_ my thoughts screamed at me. I looked up at the mirror again, curling my hand into a fist before letting it fly. Shards of glass fell into the sink clattering loudly, while the cracks on my knuckles only got worse, but some pieces of the mirror lingered in the frame so I punched it again and again, until there wasn't anything left. Until I couldn't see my blazing eyes anymore. I fell to my knees, bending forward while the pieces of glass that winded up on the floor dug into my legs. _I hate him, I hate him, I hate him. I hate this house, I hate myself, I hate this life._

"Dimka", Karo's muffled voice called out to me.

"Go away", I shouted, taking the shards closes to me, ignoring the way they cut into my palms before throwing them at the door like that might help.

"No", was all she said, making me jump to my feet and run to the door pulling it open.

"I said-."

"Oh Dimka", she cut in, her eyes scanning me, "What have you done?"

Her voice was soft, quiet, her eyes filled with worry as she carefully reached out to me. I backed away, but I felt the rage slowly fading as the love my sister had for me shone through. She boldly stepped towards me again and managed to catch my arm, pulling me out of the bathroom. She frowned at the mess I've made in there before she nudged me towards her room and said: "Let's get you fixed before mama sees you."

Ten minutes later Karo was carefully pulling out the last fragment of the glass that got stuck in my skin, cleaning the wound before wrapping it up. She was quiet, too quiet, so when she suddenly spoke up it almost felt like she was shouting at me.

"What you did was brave. It was scary and I never want to see you like that again, but it was brave. And I know it may not seem like it now, but it was right."

"How can you say that it was right? What I did to him-."

"Was awful", she finished, but added, "And well deserved after everything he's put us through. He is a monster."

"And how am I any different?", I mumbled as a flash of his bloody face crossed my mind, "Beating somebody to a pulp, doesn't that make me a monster too?"

"No, it doesn't", she stressed, her hand moving from the bandage she has fastened and up to my chin, "Because you've beaten him to protect us and he did it because it felt good."

"I could have stopped, I could have, he-, he would have left", I stammered out, the guilt drowning me.

I hated Randall and I would have said or done anything to make him go away, to make him stop hurting my family. And yes he deserved to get a taste of his own medicine, he deserved every punch I've given him, but I still couldn't help feeling like what I did was wrong.

"And he would have come back if you didn't put the fear of God in him like you did", she cut in gripping my chin tighter.

"You think he won't? Come back anymore?"

"I doubt it", she huffed, letting go of me and collecting the garbage left behind after she patched me up, "I wouldn't if I were him."

"He could come, when I'm not here", I mumbled staring at the floor.

"If he does he'll have to fight Yeva too and I don't think seeing mama is important enough for him to take another ass whipping", she analyzed as she stood up, "There's plenty of Dhampir women out there to entertain him and he doesn't give a shit about his kids anyway."

I pondered on Karo's words in silence for a while before I asked: "What now?"

"Now you go and pack", Karo instructed helping me back to my feet, "You need to get out of here and clear your head. School's starting in a couple of days so maybe you can head in that direction."

"And leave you guys alone?"

"We'll be fine", she reassured me, "You need to find balance again and you won't be able to do it here."

"Okay", I muttered since it was much easier to just follow what others tell you than to be the one making decisions.

"I have some money saved up, I could-."

"No, I don't need it", I cut in shaking my head.

"Dimitri, you need to pay for a room somewhere along the way or else you'll arrive at the academy too early. Not to mention the fact that you need to buy your train ticket", she argued, but I smiled as I thought of something that could solve all of my problems or rather someone.

"I'll stay with a friend. I have an open invitation anyway. And I have some money saved up as well so the ticket won't be a problem", I elaborated before remembering the biggest flaw in our plan, "What about mama though? I don't think she'll let me-."

"Don't you worry about mama, I'll handle her. You just go", Karo said before giving me a quick hug, "Thank you for-, just thank you."

"You too", I breathed out into her hair before she let go of me and propelled me out of the room.

I don't know how exactly did Karo handle mama, but she acted like everything was completely normal and fine as I stepped over the threshold with my bag over my shoulder. Yeva, who came back home in the meantime, simply waved me goodbye as she watched me with a strange glint in her eyes. I think nobody even had to tell her what happened while she was away, since as always she had a way of knowing things. Mama, however, didn't let me leave before I took some money and promised to call when I arrived at my friends place.

As always Mark saved me from walking for miles, since he was more than happy to give me a ride to the town. He didn't ask for the reason of my sudden departure, he wasn't the type of person to pry. He wished me a good schoolyear and then I was on the bus and headed towards my destination. A few hours later I found myself in front of an apartment on the seventh floor of a building that was high up on a hill, knocking on a door and holding my breath in as I waited. A few moments of silence followed before finally footsteps echoed from the other side. I felt a smile spread over my lips as soon as I saw her short curly hair, which was now dyed with a screaming blue color popping out from the dimmed hallway. Her dark, almost black doe-eyes traveled up to meet mine as her full lips puckered. She wore a plain white T-shirt, florescent pink pajama bottoms that contrasted her dark skin in a lovely way and the most ridiculous slippers I've ever seen, big, fluffy and in the shape of a lion's head. A little frown found its way to her forehead as she exclaimed: "You look like shit."

"It's nice to see you too Gaya", I responded my smile growing.

"If you are here something disastrous happened", she concluded, moving aside to let me in.

"Why do you think something disastrous happened, I thought you said I could stop by whenever I wanted?"

"Yeah I said that like two years ago and you never came, because you were being you and you didn't want to intrude despite the fact that I personally called you over at least like ten times. Thus the conclusion", she blurted out as I dropped my bag on the floor of her apartment, "Anyhow, shoes off, bad mood stays on the other side of the door, oh and absolutely no objections to my music. I get to listen to my jams or you're out on your ass buddy. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am", I confirmed saluting playfully.

I quickly pulled on my laces as she closed the door, disposing of my boots and taking off my jacket. I hung it next to hers, the one I recognized since it was pretty unique and memorable. I thought back to the time she first wore it and showed Leo her middle finger when he said it looked funny. Gaya was not the kind of person you meet every day, that's for sure. On the day that _I_ met her she knocked me straight on my ass. It was the first sparing session we had since we started school and we were doing it in mixed pairs. I couldn't bring myself to hit a girl, but she had no problem kicking the living hell out of me. She was tough and not someone who's likely to stand down from a fight, which was a surprising behavior for someone so young and inexperienced. She wasn't mean about the fact that she won though. She helped me up when the match was done and told some boys to "piss off" for laughing at me. It earned her a weeklong detention though, but cursing was not something that she ever stopped doing even though it would get her in trouble all the time. She wasn't poorly raised or impolite, it was just her way of avoiding conflicts, though admittedly the same behavior started a few too.

She moved out here from Brazil, when her mother started worked for a Moroi that lived in Omsk. Her mom was a rather ambitious woman from what I gathered and an exemplary guardian, thus making her very hard on her daughter sometimes, because she had extremely high expectations of Gaya. Though it might seem a little irresponsible, Gaya was pretty much on her own, living in this apartment that her mother was renting, only getting occasionally visits from her when she would get a day off. She had to learn how to do everything from cooking and cleaning to fixing the washing machine when it broke down. _It's a good way to toughen up,_ Gaya elaborated when our friend Sasha asked her about her unusual situation. I don't really think Gaya could get any tougher, but I guess nothing really surprised me anymore. I did agree on one thing with her, it really did beat living in the academy like some kids did.

Her apartment was rather small, but very cozy. It was more than evident that she decorated it herself since it was the most colorful and funny looking place I've ever seen. It was all fluffy carpets, handmade frames with ridiculous pictures she took in school throughout the years and cushions, countless amount of them positioned on the sofa, the lazy bags, the floor, just anywhere you turned really. As we entered the living room _Love will tear us apart_ has reached its last verse, playing loudly from the stereo stuck in the corner next to the balcony doors.

"Joy Division, really?", I asked while arching my eyebrow.

"Hey, I said no obj-", she began angrily.

"Not objecting", I cut in quickly, "More like admiring. I never pegged you for an eighties music fan."

"Are you kidding me?", she exclaimed before jumping on the sofa and hugging a yellow cushion with white pearls dangling from its edges, "Eighties rock."

"I couldn't agree more", I confirmed glancing around as I tried to determine where to sit.

"Get that stick out of your ass and make yourself at home D", Gaya exclaimed, rolling over to reach the remote of the stereo and skip to the next song.

I sank into the lazy bag and spread my legs over the floor. She gave me a grin before she flipped over so her head was hanging upside-down from the sofa as she drawled: "Soooo, what happened?"

"What happened?", I repeated, buying time before I had to give her the really reason why I've decided to take her up on her offer.

"Don't even try it", she threatened pointing her index finger at me, "A guy as smart as you playing dumb gives me a headache."

"I think your sitting position might be giving you that headache", I laughed before I quickly added, "I had some trouble at home that I wanted to get away from."

"Unbearable mother or an asshole father?", she prompted finally moving before all of her blood could rush into her head.

"What makes you think it's either?", I asked arching my eyebrow.

"Because it always is one of those things, isn't in?", she challenged me back.

"The later", I admitted playing with thread that got pulled out of the cushion my arm rested on, "But I'd rather not talk about it."

"And we won't", Gaya announced jumping to her feet, "Because we'll be too busy making a delicious pizza and drinking Coke until we can't breathed while waking the neighbors up with more awesome hits of Joy Division."

She hopped through the living room and behind the counter that separated the kitchen from it and I smiled as her tiny locks danced around her head. She turned the stereo up on her way there and began singing along before she shouted: "Oh and I have another guest arriving later so it might get crowded around here. Hope you don't mind."

"It's your house", I simply offered as I got up to join her, "Who's joining us?"

"The other dumbass in your gruesome twosome", she chuckled pointing at a picture that stood the closest to us.

It was a picture of Ivan and I. It was taken last year when we were trying to pull a prank on Leo. It backfired, quite literally since the box of sparkles we intended to dump on his head opened before we could and spilled all over us. It was, as most pictures Gaya took, pretty spontaneous, since we weren't even looking at the camera, but at each other, clearly laughing our asses off.

"Isn't Ivan in Italy with his parents?", I asked as my eyes wondered back to Gaya who was taking half of the contents of her fridge out on the counter as she was preparing to start in our pizza.

"He was, but apparently he cut his trip short so he can come and see my fabulous face", she laughed while she fought to open a bag of flour, "He came over last year too. We had a blast, braiding each other's hair and having pillow fights."

I laughed at her joke hard, especially since it reminded me of the time Stacy and Gaya painted his nails with pink nail polish while he was sleeping and wouldn't give him the polish remover for three days straight. We were really big on pranking one another in our now not so tiny group of friends. What stared off as just a trio, the trio being Ivan, Leo and I, turned into a group of ten over the past few years. I was strange how close you get to people without even noticing it. Though I still avoided being in the center of the attention, it felt good, being loved and cared for by the people who didn't own you that. Family really doesn't end in blood.

"Well that ought to be fun to watch", I chuckled while Gaya twirled around with a deadpan expression.

"Watch?", she exclaimed, "Oh no, you are going to participate D. You hair is just perfect for it."

I blinked a few times while giving her a bit of a shocked look before she burst into laughter and peeped: "You should have seen the look on your face. Priceless."

She kept laughing as she skipped over to the window to pull it open and let some fresh air in. I smiled, realizing she has basically managed to get my mind off the terrible events I've lived though as soon as I stepped into her apartment. Being around her was so effortless it was no wonder we hit it off from day one, which wasn't exactly an often thing for me. Like I said, she was very unique.

 **POV: Ivan**

 **3 years later**

"Hand me the popcorn", Gaya instructed as she slid in the tiny space left next to me on the sofa.

I obliged since I knew better than to stand in the way of Gaya and her food. I kicked at Leo who was sprawled over the floor and mumbled: "Can you pass me another beer?"

He shifted as much as he could so he can reach over Stacy and grab one of the bottles stuck behind her. She let out a "hey" in protest as he blocked her view, preventing her to see the TV and the movie playing on it. _If we continue adding more people to our tradition it is going to become impossible to move around here_ , I thought as I glanced over at Sasha who was prompted against Dimka's legs. Gaya's apartment looked even tinier with the six of us trying to jam into it. And to think Philip was supposed to stop by too.

"Where did you get the beer from?", Leo asked Gaya as he opened the bottle and finally landed it in my hand.

"Out of my ass", she retorted, "Where do you think idiot? I bought it in the store."

"You are under-aged", Leo pointed out.

"You sound so surprised. Haven't you learned by now that I'm a God when it comes to breaking rules?", she sang as Sasha shushed us since she was actually trying to watch the move, "Which qualifies me for the position of the main alcohol supplier to your teenage asses."

I laughed quietly as Leo stuck his tongue out at Gaya. Looking past him I noticed Dimka carefully wiggling out of the lazy bag and skipping over the mess of tangled limbs on the floor to get out on the balcony. I watched him go, seeing his shoulders tensing slightly. I felt Gaya jabbing me in the ribs with her finger so I glanced at her while she whispered: "You want to do the touchy-feely with him or should I?"

She always noticed it. She was the only one aside from me that did. Dimka was really good at keeping his façade around most of the people that surrounded him. Stacy and Sasha didn't know him so well and Leo was not the most observant person in the world, but Gaya always managed to surprise me. She looked so carefree and uninterested to be a part of any sort of drama, but she had an eye for details, especially details concerning Dimka. At some point I thought she had a thing for him, but over the time I realized they were really just good friends and nothing more. Despite being so perceptive, I was still aware of the fact that she hated going all soft on someone so I quickly replied: "I got it."

I rolled over the back of the sofa and snuck out onto the balcony, finding Dimitri leaning against the railing, looking down. I slowly approached him and leaned next to him.

"What's up buddy?"

"Nothing", he mumbled, "I'm just getting some air."

"Rightttt", I drawled, "Come on, spill the beans. What's got you all edgy?"

He was quiet for a few moments and I almost thought he might try to ignore me, but then he let out a breath and muttered: "I just keep thinking about something my grandmother said to me before I left home."

"Creepy babushka Yeva", I exclaimed actually managing to make him smile, "That ought to be interesting. What scary ass prediction did she poop out now?"

"She said, and I quote, _keep your eyes wide open this year boy, if you don't, you won't notice why your life is going to change completely_!"

"Okay", I mumbled, "It's pretty creepy, but it doesn't sound like a bad thing. Change can be good."

"Not for me", he admitted, rolling around so that his back was against the railing now and he was looking in the direction of our friends, "I don't like change. I've had enough changes as it is. The last couple of years have finally been calm and the last thing I need is something messing it up."

"Dimka, why do you always have to expect the worst? I told you, it can be a good thing, not everything and everyone is destined to mess up your life", I argued as I stepped in front of him so he'd have to look at me.

"I'm not so sure about that", he chuckled nervously, but his frown disappeared and his shoulders began relaxing.

"I am", I stressed giving him the widest smile I could manage, "I'm even willing to bet on it. I say it's going to be something good, something really good."

"And if it's not?", he questioned as I extended my hand to make the bet.

"If it's not, you win and you get the prize."

"What's the prize?"

"Whatever you ask for in the moment the bet is done", I confidently said as he accepted my hand and shook it, "Deal?"

"Deal", he confirmed before I patted his shoulder and added, "Let's go finish that boring movie."

"It's not that b-."

"Don't, just don't", I warned shaking my head, "I am never letting Leo pick a movie ever again."

When we settled back inside I paid even less attention to the mind-numbing idiotism Leo fancied. Instead, I was too busy thinking or rather wishing. I wished for a win. I wanted to win, because I wanted Dimitri to be happy. He's had a harder life than he deserved and he has more than earned a change for the better. What I didn't know in that moment was that we will never ultimately settle the score, never decide who won the bet. Because this change, this thing that his grandmother predicted will wind up being one of the best and worst changes to ever happen to my dear friend. It'll just take him a long time to realize it, to realize that something that will start off as insignificant will shape the rest of his life. But for now, we were just careless kids, drinking beer that we weren't allowed to buy and watching this dumb movie while choking on popcorn. For now we were unchanged.

* * *

 **Chapter song: When The Levee Breaks - Led Zeppelin**

 **Andddddd, cut! With this right here folks we start this crazy ass journey! As you might have noticed, I skipped a few years so we're finally settling in for a specific time of Dimitri's life and an unusual little story! I'm already super excited about the following chapter and as I've already told some of you, it's very special to me so I hope you'll like it too!**

 **Now, let's have a round of applause for the newest OC in this chapter! Fanfiction Gaya, welcome! Yes, you guessed it right guys, she was inspired by that very special person I've mentioned in my first AN, the person that still continuously helps me make my work better! Though I have to state it very clearly, ff Gaya and real life Gaya are not the same person, despite sharing a lot of similarities! This character that I have created is my way of honoring this wonderful person that has become my friends, so Gaya again, I hope you like your girl, I made her as badass as they get!**

 **I hope you guys liked this one and that it wasn't too heavy to read! Please do review and make my day by sharing your thoughts with me! Until the next time (which will be in a week),**

 **Kisses T!**


	5. CH5 - American Woman

**POV: Galina**

"Never hesitate", I repeated as Dimitri finished another circle around the gym and passed next to me while I was slowly strolling back and forth.

"If you hesitate, you'll die", I continued as his ragged breaths raced away from me along with him, "If you take the time to second guess, if you freeze or allow yourself to think about who that person was before becoming a monster, you'll die. Your charge will die."

He was approaching me again and I stopped, digging my feet into the ground to give myself a good support to bounce off. He was focused on his task, too focused, so he was distracted enough not to see me coming. Just as he passed me again I jumped on his back, tackling him to the ground. He let out a surprised gasp as his body collided with the mat I've purposefully placed next to his running path. I pinned him down, blocking his legs with my knees and his arms with my hands as I leaned in aiming for his neck like a Strigoi would. He tried to push us both up, but he had no leverage to do it. He looked sideways at me as I was inches away from his neck and I couldn't help but to smile. His eyes were always filled with so much wonder and worry, he'd absorb every lecture I gave him and he was even harder on himself than I was when he didn't do something right. I stood up and he rolled over, his chest jumping up and down as he fought to regain control over his lungs.

"I'll never get it right", he mumbled into his chin, running his palms against his hair in order to push back a few loose strands.

"You will", I stressed, offering him my hand, "You just need time and patience, patience is the key to success Dimitri."

I pulled him up, watching his face sink in dissatisfaction. I felt bad for him. He was such a hardworking kid and talented too. He expected too much of himself. I patted his shoulder which drew his attention back to me.

"You are showing remarkable results, believe me", I said as a hint of pride danced behind his eyes, "At your age, I couldn't do half of the techniques you've already perfected."

"You are just saying that to make me feel better", he muttered, but it was obvious my praises were accomplishing what I set out to do.

"I'm saying it because it's the truth", I stated firmly before I gave him a smile and offered, "How about we stab some dummies? That ought to put you in a good mood as always."

He laughed softly since stake practice was an ongoing joke during our sessions. Not that staking anything, even dolls was a joke, but ever since the first time I've handed him a stake he was always pressing me about practicing it more. He liked doing it, probably because he was really good at it, better than any of his classmates. He perfected all of the techniques he was shown and then some. I commented once that he was worryingly happy to stab things and, since he was in a foul mood that day because of the excessive exercise I've put him through, he let a mumble slip, saying he was picturing my face on the dummy. He looked so panicked when he realized I've heard him, but I burst into laughter and so, for that day on, I never allowed him to live it down.

After we finished our session, we parted ways and I headed towards my quarters before I heard someone calling out to me. I turned around and saw Guardian Khabalov jogging up to me.

"Malikova, you are a hard woman to find", he said a bit breathlessly as he slowed to a stop in front of me, "Ignatyev wants to have a word."

I nodded and swiftly thanked him before I changed course and walked hurriedly towards the main building. I took the stairs to the second floor two at the time and stopped to catch my breath as I found my way to the door with the golden bar on it. Its engraving read: _Headmaster, Stanislav Ignatyev_. I knocked and then after a few moments pushed the door open. Stanislav was flipping over a file on his desk and he looked up at me over the edge of his glasses before a small smile spread over his face.

"Galina, come in, come in", he prompted as I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.

"I was told you wanted to see me", I questioned as he straightened up and shut the file.

"Ah, yes", he responded like he has just remembered what the purpose of his summoning was, "I'd like you to welcome a new student joining us."

"A new student Sir?", I wondered as he lifted the file he's finished studying and offered it to me.

The schoolyear has started three weeks ago so I was surprised to hear of this new student he was referring to. I also felt rather curious about it so I stepped forward and took the manila folder. Before I could think about opening it though, Stanislav spoke up again: "Yes, she will be joining us a little late since her arrival from the United States was delayed, but I'm sure she'll fit right in with your help. She'll be arriving within an hour and she is to be escorted to her room, which she'll be staying in alone as per her father's requests."

Father's requests? She must be someone important or rather her father must be. Probably a Royal and with a hefty bank account too, since I'd see no other reason for Stanislav to give her special treatment. Almost all of the students shared their rooms with another, only a few exceptions have been made to the rule and it was usually the result of gracious donations to the school.

"You can inform yourself about her", he added pointing towards my hand, "It's all in the file and please do aid her if she needs any help until she gets used to the school."

"Of course Sir", I replied before he waved at me.

"That's all Galina, you may go."

I barely made it to the main floor before I cracked open the folder and stared down at the picture attached to the top of the first paper. The girl was a Moroi and glancing at the name next to the picture I confirmed my beliefs. _Emilia Johanna Lazar_. Royal. She was a pretty girl, with raven black straight hair and unusual big violet eyes. Her skin tone was a typical pale Moroi one, but her lips were rich with color and full, giving brightness to her face. The lines of it were flawless, her cheeks round and smooth only colored by a faint pink blush, her cheekbones high, giving a slightly more mature look to her though it was evident that she was young and a perky nose and square chin that still managed to look soft.

My eyes left her picture as the gentle wind outside danced over my face. I absentmindedly wended across the yard, slowly making my way towards my room. I glanced down at her basic information next.

 _Place of birth: USA, Pennsylvania, Royal Court_

 _Date of birth: February 8_ _th_ _1985._

 _Parents: Thomas Jared Lazar, Donna Isabella Lazar (deceased)_

 _Siblings: None_

 _Previous education: Private tutors_

 _Element: Undeclared_

 _Guardian: None_

I shifted through her schedule, seeing she was placed in sophomore classes starting at eight tomorrow. _The_ _poor girl won't even have the time to catch her breath_ , I thought as I finally made it to my room. I took a shower and chewed through some biscuits that I've opened two days ago, before I got dressed again and headed towards the main gate. As I neared the massive metal construction up ahead I noticed a flash of lights on a dark limousine as it backed away and drew in the other direction. The gate was slowly opening to let in a small figure that was left alone in the dark, since the lights have been shut off for the sun was beginning to rise. I fixed a polite smile on my face as I approached the girl whose picture I've been staring at half an hour ago.

"Emilia Lazar?", I asked as I stopped before her, though it couldn't have been anyone else, not just because late enrollments happened rarely, but because she looked exactly like she did in that picture, though her eyes seemed to be filled with sadness despite their extraordinary shine.

She nodded, not even attempting to respond since she looked more miserable by the second, so I hurriedly announced: "My name is Galina Malikova and I would like to officially welcome you to Saint Basil's. I'm an instructor here, but I've also taken up the responsibility of helping you get settled in, so if you have any kinds of questions or problems just let me know. We've already made your schedule, you have classes first thing in the morning, all the professors were notified of your arrival and they will make sure to aid you while you catch up on the things that you've missed since the beginning of the school year. You don't have to worry about the language, all of the classes here are in English so you'll have no trouble following them."

"And I'll be staying in-?", she mumbled as she stared up at the walls of the main building while we passed it.

"In a room in the Moroi female dormitory and since your father insisted on you not having any roommates, you'll have the room all to yourself", I elaborated as her eyes fell to the ground and she frowned.

"Awesome", she huffed, tugging her suitcase when it got slightly stuck on some whole in the pavement.

"Don't look so down", I tried comforting her, "I'm sure you'll fit right in."

She gave me a half smile and nodded again, but it was clear she wasn't convinced that my words were true. The rest of the way we made small talk, or rather I did hoping I'll get her to engage in the conversation, but she just let out a sigh here and hum there, nothing more. Finally, when we reached her room on the second floor of the dormitory I decided to leave her be since it was obvious I couldn't do anything to help her. Before I left, I gave her the schedule and reminded her to be on time. I quietly closed the door behind me and let out a sign. _I wish you luck Emilia Lazar,_ I thought as I backed away, _you're going to need it._

 **POV: Dimitri**

If I had to describe the most boring thing in the universe, I would need so few words. Moroi Culture 2. Yes, those would be the words. I expected a lot more from a subject that was based on such interesting historical topics, but as soon as we got stuck with professor Karev again, all of my hopes went out of the window. I obviously wasn't the only one feeling this way since pretty much every person in the classroom would spend the entire class staring at the never-ending tick of the clock hanging above the board, praying for the torment to stop since day one.

"And today's topic-", he announced, his voice echoing through the room.

"Pssst", Ivan tried dragging my attention from the table where he was seated by Karev on the very first day after whispering one too many words to me in the middle of the class.

I just looked at him with my brow raised, trying not to provoke Karev even more by talking back. He flashed me a wide grin as he whispered: "Did you see her?"

"Who?", I mouthed, keeping an eye on the situation upfront just in case, but the professor was too busy scribbling something on the board to care.

"The new student", Ivan breathed out with excitement, "Grisha told me she was hot."

"Grigori thinks every girl is hot", I muttered rolling my eyes.

Grigori, Misha's roommate, was one of those guys who would drool over anyone that was female, had two legs and anything even resembling boobs. I remembered the first time he tried convincing us of how "smoking" was some girl he set Mikhail up with. Though the girl was nice and actually pretty smart, she was not the best looking person on the planet. Well, if I'm being honest, she wasn't even remotely close to it.

"Quiet in the back", Karev yelled, luckily without turning around to check who was causing the noise, before he added, "You will be writing detailed biographies about one of the historical characters of choice. These projects will be a big part of your final grade so pay attention. You can see what you have to choose from on page-."

A loud knock on the door interrupted him mid-sentence. He turned to it just as it opened to let in a girl who seemed like she was the most confused being in the world. She was a Moroi, with black hair and light eyes, the color which I couldn't quite place since she was standing too far away. She wore a sweater and a skirt, coupled with knee high socks and short boots. Her bag was draped over her shoulder and she pulled on it since it was preventing her from closing the door behind her. I realized she was probably the new girl Ivan just told me about. I was sad to admit for the first time in my life that Grisha was actually right. She was hot. In fact she was beautiful, too beautiful even and well built for a Moroi.

"Excuse me", she muttered moving further into the room slowly, her accent obviously showing she wasn't from around here.

"Miss Lazar, how nice of you to grace us with your presence", Karev sneered while pushing his glasses up his nose.

She glanced at the room, blushing fiercely before focusing back on Karev and stammering: "I'm sorry, I got lost-."

"Oh you got lost. How unfortunate. Maybe we should get you a map", he exclaimed causing a few people to choke back on their chuckles, "I don't know what kind of a special treatment you are used to Miss Lazar and I don't really care, but being late for classes will not be tolerated around here. The next time this happens I will send you to the headmaster's office. Is that clear?

I honestly felt sorry for her. She had no idea what she was walking into. When it comes to Karev, I myself wasn't a stranger to those visits to the headmaster, though I usually ran late because of Ivan. She handled Karev's attitude well, much better than Leo from what I've heard since he was placed in the afternoon class and has made his life into a living hell ever since he talked back to Karev. She kept her expression as composed as she could and mumbled a quick: "Yes Sir."

"Good. Now stop wasting everybody's time Lazar and sit down", he instructed as she quickly moved down the rows of tables.

She was looking everywhere but at the students she was passing by and moments before it happened I realized which chair she has decided to occupy. _Oh, no!_ She slumped next to me with a sigh, dropping her bag on the ground before carefully turning towards me. Her eyes met mine and I frowned while focusing on their color. I've never seen anything like them, not even close. They were violet, pure crystal-like violet, like two amethysts stuck inside her eyeballs.

"As I was saying before being interrupted", Karev continued while the two of us had a staring contest, "You will work on these projects throughout the semesters and you will do so in pairs. So open your books, go through the list of possible themes on page four and pick the one you want to work on with your partner-."

She opened her mouth and after a pause whispered: "Hi, I'm-."

"Do you have a book?", I cut in, not wanting to give her a chance to get talkative and get us both into even more trouble that we've already caused for ourselves by our previous actions.

"No I, um, I didn't get my books yet", she stammered out while giving me the kind of look that made me think she was annoyed by my question.

Of course she was annoyed. She's probably just like any other snobby Royal girl around this school, thinking that she is above everyone and everything, even such simple tasks as carrying a book like any other student. Svetlana was the only Royal of female gender that I ever considered to be decent. Though admittedly, I didn't actually try to become friends with any other.

"Fantastic", I sneered, annoyed just as much.

I ran a hand through my hair before opening my book and placing it between us. I fixed my eyes on page four, ignoring the fact that she was still staring at me while I asked: "Who do you want to write about?"

I couldn't believe I was doomed to work on this freaking project with this girl through the whole year. _She just had to pick the chair next to me, damn it_! I waited for her to pick some ruler from the list, as most of the Moroi in the class did. I could hear them whispering about how cool he or she was and a few Royals bragging how they were supposedly direct descendants of some of them. However, after a few moments of stillness she jabbed her finger at the name that actually made me look up at her in surprise.

"Saint Vladimir?"

"Sure, why not", she responded confidently, though I had the feeling she had no idea what we were supposed to do. Come to think of it she actually missed the part about the purpose of these projects so I actually found myself biting the insides of my mouth to stop myself from smiling as I prompted: "Do you even know what we are supposed to do?"

"No", she retorted, her eyes becoming slightly glossy as she blinked up at me, "And you know what? You being rude to me for no reason isn't helping me understand it any better."

I was taking aback by her words and the way her voice suddenly became very strained. It seemed like she was going to start crying any minute now and I felt like an asshole for playing a big role in her already bad first day. Maybe she wasn't snobby, maybe she was like Ivan, Philip and Svetlana. Maybe I was just quick to jump to conclusions about her. Her eyes fixed on the book in front and it looked to me like she was fighting to push back the tears now clearly forming in her eyes. Finally I decided to take the high road, instead of allowing myself to judge a book by its pretty covers and offered her my hand saying: "Dimitri Belikov."

At first I thought she didn't hear me, since she stayed frozen for a few moments and then she carefully lifted her hand, sneaking it into mine, while mumbling: "Emilia Lazar."

"The following twenty minutes of your precious time will be dedicated to the complex process of forming the plan of how you are going to approach your projects, means of their presentation later on and other detail which you find important", Karev instructed before retaking his position at the front desk and sneering, "Dive in my bright minds."

"So?", she asked her eyes shifting back towards mine.

"So?", I questioned with a frown.

"Would you like to tell me what we are supposed to do?", she prompted, though all the irritation was gone and was replaced by a forced ease.

 _She was really trying, wasn't she?_ I guess nobody really wants to make enemies on their first day, though my attitude towards her certainly tempted her. I cleared my throat and repeated the instructions she has missed. She listened carefully, nodding a few times before she reached into her bag and produced a notebook.

"Do you already know how you'd like to go about it or would you like to hear my thoughts?", she added, as she opened the first page of her notebook and scribbled _Saint Vladimir_ on the very top, in neat and curved letters.

Instead of responding I made a gesture as if I was saying "go ahead" and she quickly continued: "So I think we should maybe keep the basic information about him to a minimum. Everybody knows who he is and what he has done through his life, so I don't think that would be really all that interesting. We could perhaps focus more on things that made him special or maybe like rumors and legends surrounding him."

"That's a good idea", I agreed, which made her lips twitch to the side in a half smile.

"I have those from time to time."

As we analyzed our approach to the topic further, she kept scribbling our ideas down into her notebook and the time flew by so fast that I didn't even realize the class was over before everybody around us started packing their things and leaving their seats. She too looked around in surprise, before she snapped out of it, clicking her pen and shutting her notebook.

"So, um, how do we do this?", she asked as the room began emptying, leaving us the only students left in their seats, "You want to split the work and do our parts on our own or do you want to meet up?"

I pondered on the options, thinking about how I'd much rather do my work alone, but also taking into the consideration that if we worked on it together we'd be able to fit everything in better. So I finally said: "We could meet up like once a week, maybe do our research separately, but write the project together. We've still got plenty of time though since we have to submit it during the following semester."

"Sure. Sounds good", she mumbled before she grabbed her stuff and added, "See you around."

She rushed out of the classroom so fast I barely managed to turn my head around to see her waking out. Ivan, who was standing next to the door waiting for me, also watched her leave before I joined him.

"What did you do to her?", he chuckled as we headed down the hallway.

"Nothing."

"It didn't seem like nothing, she basically ran away from you", he teased as Leo waved at us from the stairs, rushing down to join us.

"Did you hear about the n-?", he started before Ivan cut in, "Not only did we hear about her my friend, but we've also had the pleasure of seeing her in our class and Dimitri was graced with the opportunity to sit next to her."

"You sat with the new girl?, Philip's voice joined the discussion as he popped his jet black haired head in-between us, his baby blue eyes shooting back and forth between me and Ivan, "What's she like?"

"She is okay, I guess", I muttered as we reached the common room.

"Who is okay?", Gaya asked since she caught onto my last line.

She was sprawled over the sofa, glaring at everyone who tried to sit next to her before we managed to approach. She moved her legs to only make room for one and I winded up being the bravest to take it.

"The new girl, Emilia Lazar", Ivan offered, before turning to me to ask, "What did you two talk about?"

"The project", I simply replied as Gaya stretched and pushed her legs into my lap.

"And?", Ivan prompted, clearly unsatisfied with my answer.

"And nothing."

"Wait, so you didn't ask her anything about-, you know _her_?", Philip questioned through a frown.

"Nope. I'm not the type of a person who'd pry as you might recall", I retorted, now seriously getting annoyed by their interrogation. It's a girl, not an alien. No wonder she ran out of the classroom, she was probably just trying to save herself from all the fuss.

"That's not prying, it's like casual conversation", Philip offered, before Gaya jumped to her feet.

"Alright, fun's over, we have Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection to get to. Later, bitches", she exclaimed as she tugged me up and led me away from them.

When we were far enough away, I gave her a thankful look and she responded with a quick wink. We were just about to enter the classroom when I noticed a flicker of black at the end of the hall. My eyes lingered on her and I watched her frown as she studied her schedule before turning in a full circle, scanning the classroom numbers. For a moment I pondered on whether I should walk down to her and help her. _You are not a student guide Dimitri,_ my mind argued while I ran out of time to decide on what I should do since Gaya has already stepped through the door and headed towards our desk. However, my decision was made for me when I saw Antony Drozdov coming up from behind her with one of his disgusting attempts at a charming smile. My God that guy was a dick. A dick who had half of the girls in school almost fainting when he passed down the hallways. She looked up at him and smiled awkwardly as he leaned in and glanced at her schedule. The last thing I saw was her grateful expression as he gestured down the hallway in the way that made me realize he was probably going to walk her to her next class. _Let him, it's not like I care._

"Yo D", Gaya shouted as I turned around, "You gonna stand there all fucking day or what?"

 **POV: Emilia**

 _Now this is what I call a major disaster. Scratch that, it's a fucking nightmare_ , I thought as the door of my room closed behind me and I slumped onto my bed. My legs dangled over the edge as my hair sprawled across the sheets and I was left to stare at the ceiling. I reached up to pinch the bridge of my nose as I felt a headache slowly appearing. Not only was I late for my first class, but basically every single one after that too since finding my way around proved to be harder than I thought. And the students, oh the other students. The way they stared at me made me want to jump out of my skin, the hushed comments that constantly circled me made me sick and that terrible Dhampir just kept winding up in half of my classes. Dimitri Belikov, that's how he introduced himself during Moroi Culture. That class was pretty much the only time we spoke to each other during that day and the only time we sat together too. He shamelessly ignored me afterwards. What an asshole.

The other people I met though, they just mixed in a blur of faces and names. I could hardly tell them apart, only a few managed to stand out. Antony Drozdov, the charming, but slightly smug guy that helped me find my way to my Russian Literature class. Grigori Alexandrov, a senior that started at my breasts throughout most of Calculus, which he was obviously taking since actually paying attention enough to pass it and start Advance Calculus was not something he was planning to do. Savannah Conta, a girl that I believed offered me to sit at her table along with her friends during lunch just so I could worship her alongside them, which I had no intention of doing. But there were so many more, everybody wanted to meet the new girl, the freak.

I changed out of my clothes, taking a long shower to relax my tensed muscles, before I opened my laptop and searched for a movie to watch before going to bed. I decided on skipping dinner since I didn't feel like facing the reality outside of my room. I was just about to play my choice of the night, when somebody knocked on my door. I frowned and thought about ignoring it, but the knock came again. I breathed out and lazily tumbled towards it, opening it only enough to stick my head out of it. Before me stood a girl who was around my height, dressed in something resembling a pajama loosely hanging on her skinny frame, with her copper hair pulled back into a bun and her cognac colored eyes narrowing as she smiled at me, dimples in her cheeks appearing immediately as she did.

"Hi, sorry to bother you, I'm Stacy, Anastasia Summers, I'm in the room next door", she blurted out in a British accent as I blankly stared at her.

Anastasia Summers? Finally not a complicated Russian name and surname for a change. Since I didn't say anything she blushed slightly and quickly added: "I was just wondering if you had a blow-dryer and if you'd be willing to borrow it to me? Mine just died, piece of crap."

A few more moment of silence followed, before I realized I was being weird and spacing out in front of this girl so I let the door open more and responded: "Sure, come on in. It'll take me some time to find it since I haven't unpacked yet."

"Don't sweat it", she chuckled, "It took me days to unpack too."

"Oh yeah?"

"Aha, I just couldn't accept the fact that I had to move to bloody Russia, but then at some point I said bollocks to it all and admittedly life became a lot easier after that", she babbled strolling around my room as I opened my suitcase.

"When did you move here?", I prompted realizing she might be someone who could relate.

"Three years ago."

"Oh so you were new to the whole school thing too?"

"Yeah, well to this school. I went to the Maryann Academy in Britain before that. Where did you go? Saint Vladimir's, Alder-?"

"None of the above", I responded before I quickly tugged the blow-dryer out and handed it to her, "Here. You can return it to me tomorrow if you want."

"Cool, thanks", she said through a wide smile, "You are a life saver."

We stood in silence for a few moments before she added: "So are you going to dinner?"

"No, I'm not really hungry", I mumbled suddenly finding an interesting spot on the carpet to stare at.

"I wasn't hungry either at first", she chuckled stepping on the spot I used as my focus so I'd have to look up at her, "I skipped like almost every meal I could to save myself from sitting alone in the cafeteria. Then one day somebody sat next to me and I realized I wasn't going to be doomed to solitude for the rest of my education."

"That somebody must have been really nice", I commented, thinking about Savannah and her worshipers who were everything but.

"He is. Dimitri is wonderful. He helped me feel more at home here, introduced me to his other friends like Ivan, Leo, Gaya, a bunch of others too."

"Dimitri Belikov?", I found myself asking before I could stop my mouth from moving.

"Yeah, you know him?", she exclaimed in surprise.

"I've had the pleasure", I responded, cringing at how bitter I sounded.

Great, now I've made it clear that I don't like the guy she considers to be a wonderful friends. _What the hell brain?_ She, however, didn't seem at all insulted by my words, they only made her smile that much harder.

"Dimitri can be a little unapproachable sometimes", she laughed while tugging at her bun to tighten it, "But once he warms up to someone he is great."

"I don't think he'll ever warm up to me", I babbled out.

 _For fuck's sake Emilia shut your stupid mouth,_ my brain now screamed at me while Stacy reassured me: "He will. Don't worry about it."

I wanted to tell her I'm not worrying about it, that I couldn't care less whether some guy named Dimitri Belikov will like me or not. As far as I was concerned he can stay artic cold towards me, I don't give a damn. Luckily, I finally managed to talk some sense into my tongue and make it still as Stacy decided it was time for her to leave. She thanked me again and promised to deliver my blow-dryer back to me the first thing in the morning. She also told me that if I changed my mind about dinner I can always sit with her. I thanked her as well for her offer before I was left alone again.

I don't know why Stacy's visit made me so nervous all of a sudden. She was a polite and obviously a pretty easygoing girl, but as I turned towards the emptiness of my room I felt a strong urge for air. I rushed towards the window, pulling the curtain away from the glass and sliding it up so I could lean through it. I didn't have a lot of space for leaning though since I instantly came face to face with a branch of a big tree which was planted right in front of my room. I glanced beyond the bare branches seeing the Novice training grounds which were positioned right behind the main building. There was somebody there. Just one person, doing pullups in a nothing but a long-sleeved shirt that was rolled up to his elbows. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail and it swayed as he moved, his muscles flexing rhythmically. He did four more pullups before he lowered himself gracefully back onto the ground. When he turned I could see his face clearly thanks to my Moroi vision, though I didn't need to see it to already know who he is. Not many guys had a hair of that length.

He must have felt my eyes on him, he must have or there would have been no other explanation for his own shooting up so quickly right up to me. He narrowed them for a second before his mouth fell open in some sort of a shock. He glanced down the tree and then up at me again before I stepped back and closed the curtains. I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding and then dared to peek through the curtains again. He hasn't moved an inch though his head was lifted towards the sky, his eyes skimming over the clouds slowly. From the way his chest moved I think he sighed before he turned on his heel and walked away. I watched his figure become smaller trying to rationalize the feeling that came over me when his dark eyes pierced through mine despite the distance between us and his slight disadvantage compared to my vision. I couldn't. _Dimitri Belikov baffled me completely_.

* * *

 **Chapter song: American Woman - Lenny Kravitz**

 **Emilia Lazar, welcome to BImY! May the odds be ever in your favor (ups sorry wrong fandom again)! I hope you liked the entrance of my darling OC to which I selfishly gave my birthday (yup it's the 8** **th** **of February as well, happy birthday to us)!**

 **For those of you who read TAH, you can see that I've done Dimitri's POV on his meeting with Emilia in this one for a change, so now you all know what happened on the other side of that moment (and also Galina's POV of Emilia's arrival to school). For those of you who haven't had a chance to read TAH, but you are interested to see Emilia's take on it, just skip over to chapter that's named "The Story (part 1)" and read from the beginning until the line where Dimitri finally introduces himself, but stop there if you want to avoid any spoilers. Also do not read the summary of TAH while you are at it for the same reason (spoilers)!**

 **Thank you guys for reading and please do review and make my special day even more special by sharing your thoughts with me! "See" you next week!**

 **Kisses, T!**


	6. CH6 - New Rose

**POV: Dimitri**

I was soaked from head to toe. Our Weight Training and Conditioning classes were getting more intense each year, but today's class was just exhaustive, especially since it came right after Basic Guardian Combat Techniques in my Thursday schedule. I took my sweet time showering afterwards so I wasn't surprised that I was greeted by a look of annoyance from Ivan when I finally made it through the locker-room doors. He usually never entered the gym, but he had obviously lost his patience today and so he winded up sitting on a bench pushed against the locker-room's wall. He tapped on his watch as I joined him, exclaiming: "You will make us miss lunch."

"We still have thirty minutes left", I argued as he stood up.

"And you know damn well that all the good stuff disappears in the first fifteen minutes", he stressed, but his usual carefree smile returned as we strolled through the door and hurried towards the cafeteria.

As always it was crowded, but the perk of being late for lunch was that most of the students had already picked up their food and settled around the tables, so we didn't have to wait too long before we started packing our trays with it as well. Ivan talked about his Elemental Control class in Russian, desperately practicing his pronunciation. He was getting better at it, especially because he was taking an advanced course this year, but his accent still made me smile, as much as my never fading Russian accent on English made him. He was halfway through elaborating how he was finally showing signs of excelling in one element in particular, the element being water, when we turned towards the tables and his eyes set on someone. It took me a moment to realize who it was.

"No, absolutely not", I stressed before he could even make the suggestion.

"Oh come on Dimka, don't be like that", he exclaimed, glancing at the black haired girl again, "She is all alone. It sucks when people have to have lunch all by themselves."

"Her being alone is not our problem", I mumbled, trying to nudge him with my shoulder towards the already crammed table where Stacy, Philip, Sasha, Misha and Svetlana sat.

"When did you become such a meanie?", he asked, arching his eyebrow, "If I recall correctly, you saved me from that same miserable fate on the day that we met."

"I didn't save you", I contradicted, "I just sat on the first free spot I could find."

"Liar", he exclaimed, jabbing me with his index finger, while his tray worryingly swayed since he attempted to balance it onehanded.

He twirled around with a mischievous grin on his face, taking a few steps away from me before he added: "Well I'm going to sit with her and you can join us or you can go and sulk in the corner. Your choice."

With that he walked backwards for a few moments giving me a challenging look before he turned to cross the rest of the way normally and approached her. She glanced up at him in surprise as he spoke, her violet eyes scanning his face like she was trying to determine if he was playing some kind of a joke on her. Shortly after, she gestured to the chair opposite of her with a smile and Ivan took his seat. For a moment I actually thought of eating lunch without him, but he peered over his shoulder at me and winked, so with a sigh I made my way towards them.

Since we sat together during Moroi Culture on Monday I've basically been avoiding any kind of interaction with Emilia Lazar. We had four more subjects together, our schedules obviously matching at least once a day, but we sat on opposite sides of the classrooms through all of them. During Calculus Grisha eagerly took the empty chair next to her. She sat with Polina Bodrova, a girl who according to Gaya certainly had a never ending crush on me, through Chemistry and Charms. Slavic Art was Ivan's first chance to meet her and they seemed to have been a lot friendlier than we were, though from what he told me, they barely had any time to talk since they had to pay attention to the lecture. Finally, Stacy seemed more than happy to partner up with her on some task we had in Animal Behavior and Physiology. On Wednesday, when we were supposed to have our second class of Moroi Culture for this week she was a no-show. I found it strange, but tried not to dwell on that, forcing my mind to focus on other matters.

I don't know why I felt the need to stay away from her. It's not like she had done anything wrong to me or had been impolite in any way. If I were being honest with myself though, I think my drive to keep my distance developed on the evening of her first day in the school. It was a warm night, well warm enough for me to decide to do my usual workout routine outside on the Novice training ground. I was just about to go back to my room and shower so I could join my friends for dinner when an unusual feeling came over me. I felt like somebody was watching me and it instantly alerted me because, even though Strigoi never made it anywhere near the school, having someone's eyes on you in the dark close to the tree line was never a good sign. I turned, following my instincts and looking for the source of that intensifying feeling of pressure, my eyes scanning my surroundings not even realizing the direction I was pulled towards until I was staring across the yard and into a tree. For a few moments I was completely perplexed and then I was struck by the realization of why that tree stood out so much. It was the very one that captured my attention so much on my first stroll through the school grounds with Leo, the one which ended next to the window on the girls dormitory, the window with the drawn curtains. Those curtains that were now pulled apart to allow a figure to settle in-between them, a figure that was facing me, the eyes I felt glued to the back of my head just minutes ago. I didn't see those eyes, but as I squinted towards them through the branches I knew that they were violet, because I realized who they belonged to. Even when I took off, even when I was far away from that unnerving gaze, I still felt its hold on me. That feeling didn't leave me for hours later. That feeling was the cause of my awkward behavior towards this girl who was having lunch with my best friend.

"Herbalism and Basis of Medical Treatment, seriously?", Ivan questioned as I slid my tray onto the table and sat down wordlessly.

Emilia stared at me for a few second, making me feel uneasy yet again, before she seemed to have remembered she was asked a question and quickly responded: "Yeah, I thought it would be fun or at least useful."

"Is it either?", Ivan prompted as he started his usual game of chasing food around his plate. No wonder he was so skinny. I swear, for somebody who talked so much about food I would have expected him to eat at least half as much. Finding Ivan chewing on something was as rare as seeing a rainbow.

"I guess, I mean it's not boring so that's good enough for me", she elaborated, ignoring my existence as she focused on Ivan, visibly falling at that same ease everyone felt around him, "Moroi Law on the other hand-, well let's just say I won't be picking it as a subject next year as well."

"Ugh, yeah, been there, done that. Never again", he chuckled knowingly.

I remember his experience with Moroi Law, especially since I had to live through his wining for a whole schoolyear. He couldn't wait to get rid of that, as he put it, soul-sucking-hell-is-more-interesting ridiculous excuse for a subject. Yes, he was very opinioned it about it.

"So which school did you go to before you came here?", he asked as Emilia instantly blushed.

"I didn't. Go to school. Before", she blurted a string of words, her voice becoming so quiet that it seemed like she uttered three separate sentences instead of one.

"Wait, you didn't go to school? Like at all?", Ivan asked staring at her in confusion.

"No, I was-", she stopped to clear her throat before she finished, "I was home-schooled. I had private tutors."

"Well that's-", Ivan started before another voice interrupted him.

"Weird, it's weird", Leo finished while he rolled a chair from the table next to us and wiggled in between Emilia and I, jamming his tray in the tiny space left.

His approach was followed by Gaya's slumping on the chair on my other side as she huffed: "A, it's rude to call people weird and B, there should be a law preventing _you_ specifically from calling people weird."

"A, I didn't call her weird, I called having private tutors weird and B, what the hell is that supposed to mean?", Leo retorted glaring at her.

"It means you're a special little flower", she laughed before she leaned over the table and offered her hand up to Emilia, "I'm Gaya. Welcome to the limited amount of girls group, it's good to get some reinforcement."

"Emilia", she chuckled while shaking Gaya's hand, "It's nice to meet you."

"And finally somebody with good manners", Gaya exclaimed while glaring at Leo who crunched his nose up and stuck his tongue out at her.

Though Gaya had too seen Emilia in the classes throughout the week, she had stuck with me and so didn't have the opportunity to meet the new girl as pretty much everyone else did. I could see Gaya's amusement when it came to her though, despite their lack of contact, since she had this unusual talent of being able to read people well even when she didn't exchange a single word with them. She always claimed that was the reason she talked to me in the first place or else she wouldn't have bothered picking me up from that mat she glued me to after our fight.

"Sooo", Gaya drawled as she shook her bottle of juice and opened it, "How do you like our glorified school so far?"

"It's living up to its name", Emilia laughed before taking a bite of her sandwich and chewing it slowly, like she was giving herself an excuse not to talk.

"Oh, look at her, so fresh and innocent", Gaya exclaimed with a grin, "Don't worry Honey, soon you'll be as sick of it as the rest of us."

"I hope not", Emilia mumbled while I finished off my meal.

I don't think I've ever eaten something this fast in my entire life. I didn't even notice that I _was_ eating until I reached into my plate and found nothing in it. As soon as it happened I looked up at Ivan, finding his eyes, knowing he would see my wordless signal that it was time to go. And he did see it, but for some reason chose to ignore it, probably because he thought that if he did I'd stick around. When I stood up and picked up my tray everyone glanced up at me, Leo frowning, Gaya arching her eyebrow and Ivan shaking his head. Everyone except Emilia who stared at her plate like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"I have to go get my books, I'll catch up with you guys later", I elaborated, though nobody really asked me to.

"Dude, we have First Aid next", Leo exclaimed as oblivious as always.

"We also have C&C after that", Gaya came to the rescue, using her self-made abbreviations of our subject names as always, "And Slart."

"English is not your strongest suit, is it?", Leo challenged her, earning an eye roll from her.

"Using your brain is not yours either, is it?", she retorted, while Ivan quietly explained to Emilia that she was referring to Chemistry and Charms and Slavic Arts.

I used their quibbling as an opportunity to slowly back away from the table before I turned around and rushed away. I disposed of the contents of my tray and placed it on the already formed pile on the counter before I walked out of the cafeteria as fast as my legs could carry me. Ivan was right, I was acting like a mean person. I didn't like that, I didn't like it at all. _What the hell is going on with me these days?_

 **POV: Emilia**

And there I was thinking that the worst and the longest week of my life was the one when I fell from a swing and broke my leg, which led me to be stuck in a cast and locked up in my house. Of course that was before I arrived to a school in the middle of a Russian wasteland, where not only was I locked up in my room willingly whenever I didn't have to go to classes or eat, but I was also on a lockdown because I skipped Moroi Culture on Wednesday. It earned me a visit from Guardian Malikova, which was certainly better than being sent to the principal himself, but it still led me to my current punishment in the form of a restriction from any kind of recreational activates this weekend. I got off with a slap on my wrist as Malikova put it, so I was still allowed to leave the premises of my room, but not do anything that would be considered even remotely fun. Not that it was possible for me to indulge in any fun whatsoever since I've obviously formed some sort of a social anxiety ever since I stepped off that plane.

So here I was, flipping through my notebooks one more time to check if I've really done and rechecked my homework enough times. Ridiculous. I threw them all away with a sigh and glanced through my window. It was still pretty dark outside, but it was past dinner time and I had basically done nothing with my day. So finally, I decided to stop wallowing and dragged myself up, deciding to go for a walk. Walks weren't fun, right? I strolled for a long time, watching other students pass me by from time to time, walking until I've almost made a full circle around the school grounds. I was pondering on whether I should start another when my eyes locked on the glass structure up ahead. I was never much of a fan of gardens really, but my mother used to love them and so my father would take me to them often and he kept ours, back at the Court, perfect throughout the whole year. The temperatures here were certainly making it hard for all those flowers to grow and bloom, so I figured a lot of work was put into the construction of this unusual addition to the school. I could see the mix of purple, pink and white of hydrangea flowers pressing up against the glass wall closest to me. Beyond the hydrangeas a showy clusters of club-shaped yellow flowers I've recognized as goldenrod mixed with Michaelmas-daisies. _And was that a bush of roses?_

Before the thought fully formed in my head I was already pushing the door and wondering inside. I was surprised by the warmth of the air that slid across my skin as the door eased to a close behind me. Without a single student in sight this was the quietest, most calming place in the whole school. It was quite beautiful with all those faint lights falling over the colorful flowers, their smells mixing in the air, every square inch of the place neatly trimmed and cleaned. There were a few benches positioned among the flower bushes and stone paths leading around the greenery. I took those paths lazily, my eyes sliding over the petals and leafs slowly. It turns out I was right, there was an enormous bush of roses in the back and I approached it, leaning in so I could sniff them. I closed my eyes and smiled as their rich scent filled my nostrils.

A ruffle behind me alerted me instantly, since it was the first sound that wasn't made by me since I entered this safe haven. I twirled around in the exact moment somebody bumped into me.

"Jesus", I breathed out as I pressed my palm against my chest, feeling my heart jumping up inside.

"Sorry", the person blurted out instinctively before we managed to glance up at one another.

 _No, not him._ Dimitri Belikov stood frozen before me for a moment before his face shifted into an uncomfortable grimace and he pulled away a little. It was a step-up from the looks he had been giving me all week, the ones I could only interpret as repulsion, but it still made me want to be anywhere but here right now which is why I instantly mumbled out: "I'll leave."

I had no idea why I offered to do so, I was here first, so he should be the one to leave and break this unbearable tension that he had brought into this peaceful place. However, I wasn't exactly ready to ask this of him and it would have been a rather impolite thing to do so I took a few steps to the right, my leg grazing the bench that made the space between our bodies pretty tight before he spoke up, making me freeze mid-step: "You don't have to."

I didn't respond, but I didn't move either. I looked back up at is face trying to decide what this guy's deal was when he added: "I think we got off on the wrong foot."

"You think?", I babbled while mentally slapping myself for the rude retort.

He chuckled. It was the first time I've heard anything resembling a laugh coming from him. It was cute, the sound so pure and carefree, so much unlike his expression. _It's a mask,_ my mind elaborated on my behalf, _you wear it too in your own way._ I almost rolled my eyes at myself as I inwardly responded to my previous thought, _why are you justifying his terrible behavior?_ Unlike me, Dimitri obviously wasn't having a mental battle with himself, which allowed him to speak like a normal person instead of uttering the shortest responses possible like I did.

"Could we start this all over?", he prompted as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Bumping into each other all over or meeting each other all over?", I joked honestly not expecting he'd laugh.

But he did. There it was, that little chuckle again. He gestured for me to sit on the bench and I did, wanting to see what he had in mind. He sat next to me, staring up ahead before he turned towards me, giving me a small smile and saying: "Hi, I'm Dimitri Belikov."

"Hey", I replied through a smile that appeared on my face somewhere along the way, "I'm Emilia Lazar, though I usually go by Emma when among friends."

"Am I allowed to call you Emma then?", he challenged, his eyebrow shooting up while amusement danced through his chocolate eyes.

"I'll think about it."

"Well I guess that's promising enough", he laughed before he leaned back into the bench and looked up the bush of roses that was towering over us.

"They bloom almost the whole year you know", he added while his eyes skimmed over their blood red heads, "The seeds were engineered and modified to allow it."

"Obviously", I mumbled capturing his attention back.

"Oh my apologies, I didn't know I was in the company of a know-it-all", he teased through a smile, making me blush.

"I'm not a know-it-all, it just makes sense for them to plant modified flowers or else they wouldn't have much of a garden when the temperatures drop below zero which will happen soon. It's just pure logic which I luckily exercise often", I elaborated while his smile grew wider.

"Not a know-it-all, Miss Pretentious then?"

"I am not pretentious", I exclaimed in shock to his bold teasing.

He made an expression that made me think he wanted to say "right", so I quickly added in annoyance: "Even if I was Miss Pretentious as you put it, it's hell of a lot better than being Captain Brooding Face."

"Cap-?", he began saying before full-blown laughter erupted from him.

It brought tears to his eyes and I found myself softly laughing as well since the sounds he was emitting were rather contagious. When he finally managed to catch his breath he blurted: "Well you are something Emilia Lazar."

"Something good?", I asked without thinking, but he didn't give me any time to ponder on my words since he confirmed, "Something good."

"Why the sudden change of heart?", I questioned as he rubbed his eyes.

"Change of heart?", he prompted though he wasn't fooling anyone, he knew exactly what I meant.

"You go from slicing me in half with your sharp words and looks to ignoring me and now being friendly. I don't know whether we are supposed to hate each other or be best friends."

"Yeah, well, it's not you", he mumbled before his eyes sparked up and he added, "I know obviously, right?"

"I wasn't going to say that", I argued blushing again. Two times in five minutes. Well, it was certain he had a strong effect on me either way.

"I know", he said with a nod, "I'm just not really that good at meeting new people and getting friendly."

"Stacy thinks differently."

 _Are you fucking serious Emilia?_ I was honestly beginning to think I should sew my lips shut and proceed with life without the ability to say stupid things. For a moment, just a small moment, I wondered if perhaps I was lucky enough that he didn't hear what I'd just said, but then he cleared his throat and responded: "That's the part of the reason, the part of the cause for the change of heart. Most of my friends-, well let's just say that deciding to actually give them a shot turned out to be a good decision, Stacy included."

"So this is you giving me a shot?", I wondered as he leaned down and picked up a rose that broke of the bush, twirling it in his fingers, "Because-."

"Because you've done nothing to be undeserving of it", he cut in with a frown as he focused on the twirl of red in his hand.

"Well I guess that's promising enough", I repeated his words causing another chuckle.

"It is, isn't it?", he supplied before he handed me the rose.

I took it carefully, watching him as I tried to read the meaning of his gesture. He was a tough one to crack, especially since his moods seemed to be all over the place. Hot and cold was obviously a game he excelled at. He stood up and turned towards me before he added: "I should go. I made some commitments I shouldn't miss."

"Sure", I mumbled standing up as well, "I too have some, um, things to do."

 _You are even worse at lying than you are at telling the truth,_ I thought, but luckily Dimitri either bought my fake excuse or he had no desire to seek out the truth. He nodded and muttered: "I'll see you in class."

He was gone before I could even think of a goodbye, leaving me to stand in the garden with a single red rose dangling from my hand, wondering if I just imagined this whole ordeal. _This is going to be a crazy year._

 **POV: Karolina**

"But it's our family night", Viktoria wined while I carefully dragged the tip of the brush across my cheek coating it with a faint pinkish blush.

"Nobody is stopping you from enjoying it Vika", I argued as I picked up my lipstick.

"From all of the nights-", Sonya mumbled into her chin, making space on the bed to settle the ball of popcorn down.

"What's the big deal?", I exclaimed twirling around to face her, "It's not like we won't have every other Sunday and all of the holidays to do the same damn thing."

"Boy, you are touchy today, aren't you?", she commented arching her eyebrow.

I childishly stuck my tongue out at her and chose not to grace her with a response. Vika looked miserable as she took her seat on the bed and just for a moment I actually thought about canceling my other plans. However, my other plans were something I really wanted to do, thus I ignored the pang of guilt I felt and started searching for my scarf. I was almost done dressing up when I heard four quick taps on the window of our room. _Damn it, couldn't he be late at least once in his life?,_ I thought as Sonya raced to open it and let our brother in. I was ashamed to even admit to myself that I was hoping he'd miss my departure. It certainly would have saved me from answering to what I was sure would turn into his own little investigation in a matter of minutes.

Dimka hopped into the room and rubbed his palms on his jeans to clean the dust he picked up from the sill he used as leverage to get inside. He honestly could have taken the front door. I really didn't think the on-duty guards would bother him, especially since he was well known for actually not breaking many rules. Hanging out with his sisters wasn't exactly a crime, despite the fact that males of any race weren't allowed into any of the girl's dormitories. It was the rule that had many censored and uncensored exceptions though, especially because its sole purpose was to prevent intimate activities between opposite genders that could lead to some unwanted consequences.

"Going somewhere?", Dimka questioned as expected when he noticed me reaching for my coat.

"I'm meeting some friends", I answered casually, averting my eyes from him so he wouldn't see right through my lie.

"Friends? What friends?"

"Svetlana and a bunch of others", I supplied, making a mental note to remind Svetlana to cover for me in case somebody asked.

"Huh", was all Dimka said making me wonder why he gave up on questioning me so quickly, not that I was complaining.

I opened the front door, but not before I snuck a peek at him. His expression was rather strange, he looked completely lost and laser-like focused in the same time. Something must have been bothering him, but I was fairly certain whatever it was had nothing to do with me. Come to think of it, he's been acting a bit unusual all week. I opened my mouth to ask him what was on his mind at the same moment he absentmindedly added: "You guys have fun. Oh and Karo-."

He locked his gaze with mine finally paying his undivided attention to me: "Stay away from the tree line, there were some Strigoi sightings a few towns over."

Perhaps it was for the best that he never gave me a chance to question him about his mood. My brother was a private person and didn't like people prying too much, even the ones closest to him. Even if I decided to do my duty of being the big sister, the conversation would probably lead to nowhere and I'd miss my date. _My date_. I shook my head and finally added: "I'm a big girl little brother. You'd do well to remember that I've been to the same classes as you and can battle stray Strigoi if I come across them."

With that I was off, leaving my family behind the closed door. I thanked heavens I was on the first floor, since getting to the world outside was something that I didn't have to waist a lot of time on. It was a good thing when I was late and I was pretty much always late for things.

Guardian Khabalov was leaning against the wall just outside the entrance, talking to Galina when I exited. He blushed as I glanced at them and quickly took a step back to restore the appropriate distance between them.

"Karolina", Galina greeted trying to seem casual, but she wasn't fooling anyone.

She obviously had a thing for him as much as he had a thing for her. They were a hot topic all around the campus and we were all still waiting to see whether they'd have the balls to break the rules themselves and start dating.

"Guardian Malikova, Guardian Khabalov, good evening", I responded nodding at the both of them.

"We are two hours away from curfew", Galina warned after me.

"I'll see you in two hours then", I shouted over my shoulder before I rounded the corner.

Despite my brothers warnings the tree line was exactly where I was heading. It wasn't that far from the dormitory and the path to it was well lit, but as soon as I passed the first row of trees I was engulfed by darkness. The murky and tortuous road ahead would have made my heart beat hard enough to tattoo itself onto my ribcage under any other circumstances, but I felt unnaturally calm since I knew I wasn't going to walk down it all by myself for too long. The calmness however lasted only until I felt someone descending one me and barreling me into the hard surface of the tree trunk behind me.

"Damn it Jack!", I breathed out as his short blond strands tickled my forehead while he pressed up against me and hastily kissed me, "You scared me."

"Which was my plan exactly", he snickered as I playfully pushed him away meeting his sapphire eyes that shone brightly in the dark, "That way you have a reason to jump into my arms and cling to me."

"I don't have to be scared in order to do that Jack Zeklos", I scolded him as he neared me again, his hands slipping behind my back.

"I know, I know" , he whispered as his lips grazed my chin, his hot breath sending goosebumps all over me as it brushed against my neck, "But it makes me feel all manly when you are in the need of my protection."

I giggled, choosing not to point out that I was probably more capable of protecting the two of us than he was, and wrapping my fingers around his wrist while I slipped to the side, taking a few steps away from the tree and tugging him further into the woods. He took over fast, leading me in the right direction, towards the blanket he has settled in-between the tree roots sticking out of the ground. We snuggled together on top of it and forgot all about getting spooked or talking - or even breathing for that matter. We just gave into the lust filled dance of our hands and lips until we were both panting and needy. He nipped at my earlobe as his fingers slid across my inner thigh and I threw my head back gasping from the pleasure and the anticipation of what was to come next. That's why his sudden mumble coming in the form of the most unexpected words I've ever heard felt like a cold shower.

"Let's have kids."

My head snapped back and my eyes flew open just in time to see his face twisting in a way that let me know he was regretting his words. He was quick to add: "That came out wrong."

"Why did it come out at all?", I babbled, but then feeling guilty for sounding so harsh continued with, "Where did that thought come _from?_ "

That didn't sound any better, but it still seemed to have set him more at ease despite the fact that he was still averting his eyes from mine and rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Well, it's just that, it's something I've been thinking about recently."

"And this is how you've decide to let me in on your thoughts?", I chuckled, calming down from the initial shock enough to attempt to calm him as well.

"Sorry", he muttered with a sheepish smile, "Not my finest moment, I'll admit, but I just-, I really want that."

"To have kids?"

"To have kids with you", he corrected moving back closer to me in a tentative manner.

"Okay, can we please start this conversation all over?", I asked as I pulled myself up to a sitting position and took the hand he rested on the blanket pulling it into my lap and lacing our fingers.

"Yeah", he breathed out nervously, "I should probably explain myself."

I nodded and he continued: "You already know that I spent the summer with my family in our vacation home in France, right? Well, a lot of my cousins were there with their families as well, so there were like plenty of kids around. I played with them a lot, looked after them while their parents were making barbeques and getting drunk. I made sure they ate and got into bed on time. I always loved being around kids, never minded babysitting them and I was just so happy to spend my time with them. There was this one girl, Tonya - she looked so much like you with the dark hair and eyes, a smile just like yours… and I started thinking how nice it would be to have one goofy little girl just like her, looking just like her mother."

With his last word his gave me a fond, but serious look, like he was trying to make sure I fully understood I was the potential mother he was talking about. I did understand it, very well, so I wasn't surprised to feel this lump in my throat that was created by a wave of panic. There was another feeling flowing through my body though, a dose of excitement that I couldn't explain. Why would I ever be excited about this? Not only was I too young to consider having kids, but I was also the furthest away from the thought of considering them with Jack. I loved him - we'd been dating for a year already, and chasing each other around for a lot longer than that. Not many people knew that, since I was keeping it hidden from my family in order to avoid them meddling into my affairs, so Jack kept quiet about it as well. And though him being a Royal never really presented a problem between or for us, dating him was one thing. Starting a family was an entirely different matter.

"Look, I know what you are thinking", Jack interrupted the silence making me realize I was lost in my head for too long, "You think this is all sudden and maybe even inappropriate at this time, and I'm not saying it isn't, but Lina-, I didn't just say this without thinking it through first, without making sure it's what I want."

"I'm not sure this is what _I_ want", I whispered, praying my words wouldn't hurt him, "I love you Jack, but this is a big decision and the last thing I want is to wind up like-."

When my voice trailed off he prompted my chin with his fingers and gave me a knowing smile as he whispered back: "Like your mom?"

I nodded, biting my lower lip. His thumb slid up to my mouth and he tugged the flesh away from my teeth gingerly, moving even closer to me, close enough that there was only a breath separating us. I was momentarily lost in the depths of those beautiful sapphires, but that still didn't snuff out the voice in the back of my head, the one that was telling me to run. Not run from Jack, run from this feeling of calmness he was managing to grind into my bones, this feeling of wanting to join him on this wild journey of thoughts and dreams.

"First of all", he breathed out, his eyes intensely fixed on mine, "I would never abandon you like your father abandoned your mother. And second, even if by some disastrous fate something was to happen and break us apart, was your mom really that bad off? I mean, she raised four amazing children all by herself and she still had her own life."

"Which doesn't mean I want to do things the way she did them", I argued though I saw his point, "Besides, my family doesn't even know I'm dating you yet and now you want me to what, go home and tell them I'm about to have a child with you?"

"Well, you are the one who didn't want to tell them about us because you think that your brother will kill me just because I'm a Royal Moroi and a part of some secret society bound together by a vow to destroy the chastity and lives of Dhampir women-", his voice trailed off when I knocked him on his back and tickled him into incoherency, laughing along with him.

"Shut up", I giggled as I felt my cheeks burning, "That's not what he thinks."

"I know. I'm just kidding, I hope", Jack confirmed through a chuckle, hugging me so that most of my weight ended up on his chest, "Look I'm not saying we _have_ to have a kid or that we have to talk about it and make a decision tonight. I just want you to think about it, _really_ think about it and let me know whether you want the same things I do. I'm not going anywhere, so take your time."

When his little speech finally ended I was stunned, which gave him an opportunity to pull me back into a heated kiss. When we broke apart to catch our breaths, I cupped his face and told him, promised him the only thing I could at this point: "I'll think about it."

* * *

 **Chapter song: New Rose -** **Guns N' Roses**

 **I know,** **I know, I suck! I'm so sorry I kept you guys waiting for an update for more than a month! And though it's not an excuse, the main reason why it took me this long to finish and post this chapter is because I got stuck on Karo's POV and the side story I wanted to include into BImY! Plus I hit a writer's block and then it all went to shit!**

 **The following part is not exactly a spoiler since you all know what's going to happen with this idea: After doing the math I came to the conclusion that Karolina had to have gotten pregnant during her last year of school since it was pretty much the only thing that made sense. She is around 26-27 when Rose meets her and her son is 10 so I pushed the limit a bit further and decided to make her a mom when she is around 17. Also, Dimitri mentioned during Spirit Bound while talking to Rose about his family that "Karolina's children were by choice" unlike Sonya's who he said he guessed were a surprise, which is why I've been desperately trying to come up with some nice way to start the idea of her willingly conceiving a child (and by "nice way" I mean something that doesn't completely suck, ugh!). And w** **hy I've decided for that child to be fathered by this dude in particular? Honestly, I have no freaking clue hahaha, but it just the way it winded up being when I wrote the chapter. And then I actually started liking the idea of Paul having some Zeklos family traits and in some small details resembling Ivan in a way.**

 **Luckily (for all of us), I have this amazing friend (yes** **,** **it's Gaya) who did an incredible job at helping me write this chapter by revising it for like a million times and suggesting so many ideas that there was absolutely no way for me to keep avoiding to write it andddd for boosting my confidence by her wonderful compliments! So go ahead and thank her for this update since it wouldn't have happened without her!**

 **Lastly, I just want to point out that a lot of the subjects I mentioned (and will mention) are my own creation, since well, not many were named in the VA books! I went a little overboard so I came up with each character's exact schedule so there will be quiet a few of those made up subjects coming up!**

 **Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think and I'll hopefully "see" you sooner this time! Until then,**

 **Kisses, T!**


	7. CH7 - Holding On and Letting Go

**POV: Emilia**

I woke up at the crack of dawn. Well, technically, it was the crack of dusk, but that kind of defeats the purpose of the idiom. The dark sky was still splashed with a few lingering rays of a ripe persimmon color that sent enough light into my room to make it brighter than I'd like it to be. I rolled over so that my back was turned to the window since getting up and actually closing the gap between the curtains required more effort than I was capable of making at the moment. I screwed my eyes shut, willing my brain to go back into the sedated dreamlike state it had just abandoned, but my efforts were useless.

As my eyes fluttered open lazily yet again I was faced with a single red rose submerged into a plastic glass of water placed on my nightstand, the rose that was given to me by none other than Dimitri Belikov last night in the school's garden. I let out an unsteady breath, pulling myself up to a sitting position and reached over to run my fingers over its soft petals. I sat in silence for a while, simply gazing at the flower that had become the only decoration in my room since I was still refusing to unpack. And then I finally made a decision. Enough was enough.

It took me a few minutes to pee and brush my teeth before I picked up my suitcase and tossed it onto the unmade bed. I tugged the zippers quickly and opened the top, facing my things like an enemy on a battlefield. With a sigh I reached inside and picked up a random shirt, holding on to it for a few moments before I walked over to the closest and laid it down on one of the empty shelves. It was a rather dramatic moment for me, not because that was the first piece of my clothing to touch the said closet, but because I've finally accepted that this was my closet, this wasmy room, this was my life, whether I liked it or not.

Everything after that was easier - well, except that I was sweating like a pig by the time I emptied all of the boxes my father had delivered for me. When there was nothing else left to unpack, I stripped off my sleeping clothes and tossed them in the corner of the bathroom where there was a pile made of the ones I wore throughout the past week, making a mental note to get a bin to store the dirty clothes before I washed them. Just another thing I never had to worry about before to add to the list.

While I was picking what to wear I crouched to reach my boots and felt a bit dizzy when I stood up. I knew what that meant, so I hurriedly peeled away the damp towel from my body, got dressed, did my hair and makeup, picked up my books and made my way towards the feeders. For the first time since I arrived here I felt a dose of familiarity upon entering the facility where the feeders were accommodated. This one and the one back home were very much alike in their design or rather the lack of and beige, sterile and plain, calm and quiet. I didn't mind the insufficiency of character, it actually suited me because it made the whole establishment feel like it was unblemished by the confines of a particular segment of time and place. I could be in Russia or America or anywhere at all, it could be day or night or something in between. It was actually very relieving.

The feeder that was picked for me was a young woman that seemed more than eager to great her first "customer" of the day. Our avidity was mutual since I was beyond starving, so I wasted little time on pleasantries. Upon piercing her skin I relished the feel of her blood trickling slowly into my mouth, so I closed my eyes relaxing into it. I heard the feeder's satisfied hum as I sank my fangs deeper into her wrist, allowing more endorphins to make their way into her system and more blood to make it into mine. When I finished, she gave me a sedated smile and a faint wave before I left.

I still had a solid hour to kill before Moroi Culture so I unhurriedly made my way towards the cafeteria to get some less liquid food. Breakfast had just started so I wasn't surprised to find the place half-empty, giving me plenty of tables to choose from. I grabbed a bottle of cranberry juice, an omelet and made myself a cappuccino before I took what was becoming my usual spot. I was halfway through my meal when I felt someone approach me from the back. Before I could turn around to see who it was though, a mix of purple curls popped out over my shoulder and Gaya's dark eyes winded up inches away from mine.

"Hey girl", she greeted as I attempted to smile with my full mouth, "You are here early."

"You are too", I mumbled after managing to swallow my bite while she pointed at the chair next to me as if she was asking for permission to sit.

She didn't seem like the kind of a person that asked for permission very often, so I figured it was her way of trying to be as polite as she could. I nodded even though she was already almost seated. I eyed her heavily piled up tray with amusement while she exclaimed defensively: "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

"That's true and you have a lot of training to do so you need the energy", I confirmed making her grin.

"Amen", she shouted making a few sleepy souls around us jump up in their seats and glare at us, which she naturally paid no attention to.

"So how do you like the new hair color?", she added while twirling one of her tiny locks around her finger before letting it bounce back like a coil, springing into the black nest formed from the roots she left undyed.

"It's a very interesting color choice. It goes well with your original hair color too."

"You inspired me", she elaborated as she absentmindedly took a sip from my cup, "With your wickedly cool eye color."

She made a disgusted face as she placed my cup down and added: "Ugh, I hate coffee."

"I'm glad I was inspirational", I chuckled, glancing up at a girl who was approaching us.

I've seen her hanging around Gaya a few times over the course of the last week. I think her name was Sasha or at least that's what I heard some people calling her. She stopped near our table and waited for Gaya to look at her before she tapped on her watch: "Hurry up! I promised Stacy we'll stop by before the classes start."

"Sa-mha, um ea-ing", Gaya mumble incoherently through the giant bite she just took.

"It's a sandwich, you can eat it on the way there", Sasha argued giving me a quick smile before circling Gaya's arm and pulling her to her feet.

"Jes-um-us", Gaya huffed before she could finally talk normally, "You are a pain in my fabulous ass you know that, right?"

"I love you too", Sasha retorted while she picked up Gaya's tray and flashed me an apologetic smile, "Keep walking Gaya!"

I heard Gaya mumble something unintelligible and, without a doubt, very inappropriate, before Sasha propelled her forward.

"See you later E", she quickly added and I laughed waving at her while I watched them leave.

I slowly finished up and decided to head straight towards my classroom even though there was still enough time left before I actually had to do so. I was already one foot into the, as expected, empty room when somebody brushed my shoulder. I jerked back knocking into the door and heard a soft laugh erupt behind me.

"Easy."

"You have to stop doing that", I exclaimed as Dimitri stepped towards me and pushed the door back into its position.

"Doing what?", he innocently questioned while we moved inside.

"Sneaking up on me."

"It's not my fault you are so easy to sneak up on", he pointed out before adding, "Emma."

"Emma? So you've decided on your own that you can classify yourself as my friend, I see", I chuckled rising an eyebrow at him.

"Can you blame me? You were talking forever to decide", he commented casually, with just a hint of a mischievous smile playing on the edge of his lips.

"It was less than twenty-four hours ago", I exclaimed, rolling my eyes, making his smile spread.

"That's plenty of time", was his last argument before he slipped past me and walked towards his desk.

I followed him there, stopping in front of it while he sat down, waiting to see if he'll leave the chair next to him empty. He did, so after a few moments I took the seat, taking out my book and notebook along with my pencil, piling it all neatly next to the edge.

"You got your book", Dimitri commented as he leaned back into his chair and prompted his legs on the one in the row in front.

I briefly considered angling my body in the same position, but soon realized his height advantage was the only thing that allowed him to stretch that much. If I attempted it, I'd look ridiculous. So instead I crossed my legs and wiggled slightly so that I could face him better.

"Yes I did. Now you don't have to share yours with me."

"I don't mind sharing", he voiced, pulling his slightly torn book closer so he could open it, "I'm actually kind of used to it."

I followed his gaze to the top of the very first page only to see something scribbled in the right corner. His name was written underneath the first line and though his handwriting was actually very neat for a guy, the one above was just too pretty and artistic, visibly different. I peered at it, making out the name of the person this book obviously previously belong to.

"Karolina Belikova", I read out loud before glancing back up at him.

"My beloved sister", he supplied with a small smile.

I was used to people talking bitterly about their sibling. I'm sure they loved them to death, but I'm also pretty sure they were annoyed by their very existence just as much. Not that I would know since I was an only child. From Dimitri, however, I didn't detect even a hint of the kind of tone I'd expect upon the mention of his older sister.

"So you have a sister", I prompted as I tapped on her name with my index finger.

"I have three actually", he announced, making me gape at him.

"Wow."

"Yeah", he chuckled, "So like I said, I'm used to sharing. What about you?"

"I guess you could say I'm as spoiled as they come", I responded through a small smile, "I don't have any siblings, so sharing was never really required of me."

He was just about to say something when somebody stuck their head through the door. His blond strands fell into his eyes as he flashed us a wide smile. I instantly smiled back, it was impossible not to. Ivan must have been the brightest person on this planet.

"I must say I'm disappointed my friend", he exclaimed in an overly dramatic voice, "I mean she is gorgeous, but bros before h-, sorry, ladies."

I giggled while Dimitri rolled his eyes at his friend and retorted: "You are not allowed to be anywhere near me during this class and you know it."

"Always so serious", Ivan chuckled before he reached us, offering his hand up to me as he did.

I took it, my smile widening when he flipped my hand around and placed a gentle kiss on top of it, bowing and winking while at it. Dimitri, unlike me, looked thoroughly unimpressed. With a smirk, a raised eyebrow and sarcasm dripping from his voice he asked: "When did you get this charming?"

"I was born charming", Ivan replied proudly as he leaned against the desk behind him.

"I seem to remember differently. Actually, I remember you used to be the shyest boy-."

"Okay, okay. Don't give all of my secrets away", Ivan exclaimed waving his hand in protest.

I found their banter quite adorable. It was evident just how good of a friend they were to one other. More than friends, brothers. _It must be nice, having someone who you're so close to_ , I thought as Ivan kicked at Dimitri's legs and Dimitri tried fighting him back before Ivan moved out of his range. Actually, I didn't think Ivan _was_ out of his range - he was freakishly tall, after all, but I was fairly certain Dimitri wouldn't have hit him back even if he could.

As more students arrived in the classroom I quietly sat next to Dimitri listening to his conversation with Ivan. Well, conversation was perhaps too strong of a word. It was mostly Ivan talking and Dimitri carefully listening to him with a word here and a nod there. He didn't seem bored though, far from it. He listened with amusement and with a never fading smile playing softly on his lips. At some point, when Ivan had to take his seat at the front of the classroom, Dimitri glanced towards me, his eyes still reflecting the good mood his friend had set him in and, for a moment, I actually allowed myself to believe he could become my friend too. Who would have thought? Only a day ago I could hardly stand to be in the same room as the guy and now I was hoping to become a part of his life. The hell if I knew what was going on.

 **POV: Dimitri**

"You were taking forever to decide", I mumbled into my chin, rolling my eyes at myself. _Who says that? An overly confident jerk, that's who._

I pulled my hand wrap harshly before I rolled it around my palm again, making sure the material was tightly holding my wrist in place. The wrap was worn out already, I'd have to replace it soon, but it could survive at least a few more days of workouts. Today's class of Weight Training and Conditioning was going to be one of those "do whichever exercise you want as long as you sweat your ass off" kind of classes that we had every once in a while. Naturally, I opted to start with my favorite one.

I decided to spend more time on warming up since I felt stiff from sitting through the first three classes, even more so because I limited my movements to a bare minimum during Calculus in which I, yet again, sat next to Emilia. Our first class together went well, way better than expected. We actually managed to act like normal, civilized people. We even smiled at each other. All of that went down the drain though when we showed up for third period. I actually didn't even think about where I was going until I found myself sitting next to her. And I didn't realize something was wrong until I attempted to make myself comfortable in the seat, accidently brushing her leg with my hand in the process, causing her to jump up and slid as far away from me as possible.

I was baffled by her reaction, but when I searched her face for clues as to what had caused it I came up empty. She wore a stone cold mask that even my observant eyes couldn't breach. After that, she wouldn't even look at me and when the class ended she wordlessly stormed out leaving me stunned in my seat.

I replayed every sentence we exchanged since this morning during the ten minute break which I spent taking a stroll around the school, but couldn't find any fault in my words at first. However, the longer I thought about it, the worse it became. Suddenly, every sound that had left my body seemed wrong in some way and merely thinking about it drove me nuts. So, as per usual, I finally went for the very "healthy" option of simply ignoring everything, transferring all of my focus onto my job instead. And my job right now was to beat the shit out of a punching bag.

I jumped up from the bench and cracked my neck before I pulled my right knee up to my chest holding it in the air for a while before letting my leg drop to the ground. I repeated it with my left leg as well before proceeding to shrug my shoulders, rotating my arms forward and backward. As I grabbed the jump rope I caught Leo's eyes, seeing them spark up as he happily pointed at the barbell bench he was about to occupy. I gave him a quick node and mouthed good luck, twirling the rope around my hands and spreading it before me.

Ten minutes later, when I felt enough heat building up in my muscles, I stretched and circled my target. I got the feeling I was the number one person responsible for the poor shape of the black letter bag that sadly hung in the corner of the gym. From the moment I was tall enough to take it on, I'd been practicing my punches on almost daily basis on this immobile opponent. They changed it once a year since by the time we reached the summer break it was usually falling apart and though I wasn't the only one using it, I certainly made the worst damage each time. I took out all of my frustrations on it whenever I felt them build up and let's be honest, that wasn't exactly a rare occurrence for me.

I took the stance I could master even in my sleep and pulled my hands towards my face, feeling my shoulders tense. I lightly jabbed the bag a few times, saying hello to it more than actually working out. I pivoted on the heel of my right foot, rotating my leg and hip while I struck it with more force. It didn't take me long to set into the 1-2-3 combo routine, the sound of my sneakers screeching against the floor and the loud thumps of my hits adding to my adrenaline buzz. I kept increasing my punching speed, making the bag swing harder before somebody hugged it and stilled it. The person who decided to interrupt me almost got what was probably going to be a nasty bruise as I barely evaded colliding my fist with their forearm.

"Wow, same side here, remember?", Gaya joked as she peered around the bag at me.

"Sorry, I got carried away", I huffed as I tried to slow my breathing down.

"I can see that. Any particular reason as to why you're so angry?", she questioned, coming to stand before me.

"I'm not angry!"

"Righttt", she drawled, "Well then, if you are so completely and totally calm, let me tell you how I'm currently in the exact opposite mood after I saw what that idiot Grigori did."

"Grigori?"

She nodded, making one of her countless weird expressions that I've learned to read throughout the years. This particular one said "I'm so done with men's shit". Even if I didn't have the opportunity to see her face though, it wouldn't take a genius to figure out Grisha had probably fucked something up. He had a tendency of doing that.

"What happened?", I simply asked as she glanced over her shoulder to make sure nobody was listening.

"He grabbed Emilia's ass."

"I'm sorry, what?", I exclaimed, forgetting to keep my voice in check since I was shocked by her words. I didn't know if the shock was caused by the unexpectedness of the situation, by the lengths Grisha was willing to go to so he can get any girl's attention or by the fact that Gaya chose to tell me this.

"Yeah", she confirmed making a disgusted face, "He is really getting out of hand. He sat next to her during the break before Calculus and attempted to charm her. Since that obviously didn't work, because it never does, he just decided to grope her."

"What did she do?", I questioned, shamefully intrigued by the story.

"She slapped him right across his face and ran away, what else?", Gaya said raising her eyebrows to point out the obviousness of the situation.

"Well that's, um, all very...interesting", I mumbled, but I was already losing my ability to participate in this conversation since my mind flew back to Calculus.

Emilia had looked pissed off when I sat down, she'd jumped up when I brushed her thigh, she wouldn't look at anyone, me included, and she stormed out on her own after the class was done. There I was thinking that I was the one who did something wrong, but it was Grigori who had her rattled all along. She must have been freaked out, thinking she landed herself in a school filled with idiots who were going to go around grabbing her like that's a normal thing. I constantly had to remind myself that she'd never gone to a school before. Everything was new for her, probably even dealing with jerks. To top it all off, she was the new girl every guy wanted to call dibs on.

Grigori was not a bad person, but slightly limited and too horny for his own good. Though that didn't justify his inappropriate behavior, I knew he didn't think he was going to cause such a strong reaction. He'd gotten his fair share of slaps for touching what he shouldn't have over the years. He never learned, but then again no one ever took him seriously or bothered to explain to him what proper behavior looks like.

The important thing here, however, was that I had no part in Emilia's discomfort, if we don't count the accidental touch that occurred. I felt relief spread through my body and I frowned at myself upon the sensation. It's not like this was that important to me, right?

"Hellooo, earth to Dimitri", Gaya shouted, waving her palm right in front of my nose, "Where did you disappear to?"

"Sorry, I-."

"Spaced out", she prompted through a smile, "I'm really rubbing off on you, aren't I?"

"You can rub-", a voice behind Gaya started saying, but she twirled around so fast that the guy, who was about to crack some undoubtedly dirty joke, didn't even get a chance to get another letter out.

"I'm going to rub your face against a wall if you even think about finishing that one", she threatened and he backed away quickly.

Though Gaya was a dear friend, even I couldn't deny that she was pretty scary when she got all fierce and angry. She might fool you by her looks, but she could _take any one of us tall and muscular guys any day and stand as a proud winner afterwards_ , her words of course. I knew better than to doubt them.

"Jeez, when is this puberty thing going to pass?", she added as she turned back to me, "Guys and hormones are just a bad mix."

"As opposed to girls?", I commented, making sure to smile as wide as possible so she wouldn't take my words too seriously and get offended enough to transfer her previous desire to help someone have facetime with a wall to me.

"True", she thoughtfully replied, rubbing her chin, "Anyhow, wanna spar? I desperately need to get back into shape, this summer break killed me."

"Promise not to make me embarrass myself?", I teased as I gestured towards the mats.

"I'll think about it", she joked, as we took our positions.

 **POV: Ivan**

I focused on the glass of water that stood peacefully before me and clenched my fists like that could somehow help. I stared at it until my eyes began watering from the absence of blinking. Nothing happened.

"Damn it", I mumbled capturing Gaya's attention, not enough to have here looking up from the page of Bodyguard Theory book she was currently reading, but enough to have her offering: "Give it time!"

"I've been giving it time all summer. Everyone is making fast progress with their element and I'm falling behind", I wined a bit too loudly, disturbing the peace and quiet of other students in the library, "So far I've only managed to control it for like a few minutes a couple of times."

"You'll get there", she reassured me, completely confident.

I let out an unsteady breath, twirling in my seat and leaning away from her as I tried to pay more attention to my actual homework. I was just finding my concentration when I heard a rhythmical sound coming from behind me.

"You are doing that thing again", I warned as the sound abruptly stopped.

"What thing?"

"The thing when you freak me out with the creepy random whistling", I prompted glancing at Gaya over my shoulder.

She slid her legs of the table, placing her book onto it instead and gave me an apologetic expression as she straightened up: "Oh, right, sorry."

"I'm going to go find Dimitri", I announced, abandoning my homework completely.

"K", was the best response Gaya had to offer as I picked up my books and headed out as quietly as I could.

I checked the gym and the outdoors training grounds first, thinking that he had probably stayed longer with Galina. She pulled him earlier from classes today, since she had some business to attend to tomorrow during their usual practice time. Personal training sessions obviously trumped everything, since not once when she requested for him to skip classes had a single professor said no. Maybe that was just because Dimitri always somehow managed to catch up on the things he'd miss. It was safe to say my friend was a hard worker. Or perhaps it was because he got certain unofficial benefits for being one of the best Novices this school had ever seen.

When I didn't find him in the first two places I headed towards his room, slowly strolling past the cafeteria to check if he had, perhaps, decided to go and have dinner without me. My attention was a bit divided so a group of people walking into my path surely surprised me enough to have me stumbling and almost tripping over my own feet. Even though the abrupt stop didn't make me fall flat on my ass, I was definitely close to collapsing on the spot once I looked up and noticed who I ran into. It wasn't just a group of people, it was a group of very popular girls surrounding the most popular and beautiful of them all.

"Ivan", she giggled as I gaped at her like an idiot.

She was honestly hard not to stare at, with those beautiful dark doe eyes, her flawless skin, her round rosy cheeks and always slightly pouty and lip-gloss coated lips. She flipped her ash blond hair back as she batted her long eyelashes at me, the highlights in her hair catching a bit of the moonlights shine.

"Savannah. Hi!", I said louder than I intended, praying the blush of my cheeks wasn't too visible.

"Aren't you gonna say hi to us too?", one of her friends teased.

"Hi girls", I quickly added, trying not to have a heart attack when Savannah straightened up, taking a deep breath which made her chest heave in a way that caused her shirt to pull back further, emphasizing her already rather revealing cleavage.

"Are you coming to the party?", Savannah asked, making me blink up at her in confusion.

"Party?"

"You know, the usual autumn party I make every year", she prompted while twirling a strand of her hair around her finger, "It's this Friday."

I knew about her parties, hell I've always wanted to go to them, but I sort of sealed my faith on the day I turned down Antony Drozdov and his offer to hang out with him rather than Dimitri. It classified me as one of the rare Royals who wasn't a part of the glamourous group of kids in our school, so getting an invitation to events such as this one wasn't exactly in the cards. I've been to some parties over the years, though maybe _party_ was too strong of a word. It was more like small get-togethers with a limited amount of alcohol and the music playing so softly you'd almost feel like it wasn't playing at all. Only the kids with a strong status and parents who had more money than God could pull off actual parties without getting into any trouble. I believe the principal and the professors tended to turn a blind eye to these rule-breaking gatherings because of the countless donations the school got from those rich families.

"Sure, yeah, I'll come", I mumbled out as she stepped closer.

"Fantastic", she drawled glancing around at the strange smiles her friends gave her, before patting my shoulder.

She distracted me so much by her gesture I barely managed to remember I was supposed to ask her for a plus one.

"Can I, uh, bring my best friend along?"

"You mean that big fella who is always brooding?"

"The one", I laughed unevenly, pondering on whether she was trying to mock him or just point out the obvious. Dimitri did come off as a brooder sometimes, especially to the people who didn't know him well.

"Sure, whatever", she casually replied before fixing her eyes on Polina Bodrova, adding, "Some of us like brooders."

The rest of the girls giggled, but Polina blushed scarlet. I attempted not to laugh since I knew Polina certainly felt uncomfortable enough, so I quickly pushed out: "We'll be there."

"I'm counting on it", Savannah whispered as she leaned in and kissed my cheek.

I believe every single one of her friends heard the oxygen in my lungs seizing and my heart skipping a beat since the giggles continued as they walked away and I was left stunned and alone, watching them leave.

After I regained control over my limbs I almost ran to Dimitri's room, bursting through the door like hell hounds were chasing me. He was just getting out of the shower when it happened and the look on his face must have been even more comical than the one I wore, since he barely managed to wrap a towel around his lower body in time.

"Naked", was all he said while he moved over to his cupboard.

"Irrelevant", I exclaimed, pushing the door shut with my foot, "I just got invited to a party."

"Good for you", he offered, grabbing a plain black shirt and pulling it over his still damp chest which made it cling to his body as parts of the material began sucking up the lingering droplets.

"Good for us. You are coming with", I announced, at least having enough sense of mind to look away as he proceeded to remove the towel in order to get his boxers on.

"And who is organizing this party that I'm obviously being forced to attend?", he asked with a dose of irritation as he sat on top of his bed.

"Savannah Conta."

"No."

"Come on Dimka, please", I begged as I rushed towards him shaking his shoulder like that could somehow make him see reason, "You have to go."

"Why?", he questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Because, I need my wingman", I exclaimed since I knew that he was well aware of the fact that I had a thing for Savannah since forever.

He opened his mouth to protest so I quickly added something I was hoping would get him more interested: "Besides, I'm pretty sure Emilia Lazar will be there as well."

"So?", he challenged, but he wasn't fooling me, my tactic worked.

"So don't you like have a crush on her or something?"

This was just wild guessing on my part, but wasn't often that Dimitri Belikov got so rattled by anyone, let alone a girl. The very fact got me thinking there had to be more to it than he was telling. So what I was doing right now was very mean, but I knew it was the only way to get him to go. If I was right, he'd be there because she was there. If I was wrong, he'd also go just to prove me wrong and show that he was totally unfazed by her presence.

"I don't have a crush on her, I hardly know her", he retorted crossing his arms on his chest.

"Maybe you don't have a crush on her, but I know someone who has a crush on you?"

He kept his mouth shut this time, waiting for me to reveal the big secret so I added: "Polina Bodrova."

"Oh come on", he cried out, throwing his hands in the air, "Not you too. Gaya got on my nerves enough with that unfounded assumption."

"It's not unfounded. She turned like a million shades of red when I mentioned you-."

"Stop", Dimitri cut in, standing up, "Don't do this. This isn't you."

I looked up at him and felt all words leaving me. He was right, I was getting out of control with my attempts at persuasions. I was acting like an idiot actually.

"Dimka, I'm-."

"It's okay. This is obviously important to you so I get why you got... weird. If you want me to go, I'll go, but not because of Emilia Lazar or Polina Bodrova or anyone of those people at the party. I'll go for you."

"Thanks", I breathed out, standing up as well.

We looked at each other for a few moments before I pulled him into a hug. He patted me on the back and softly chuckled into my shoulder. Our brotherly moment got interrupted my Leo's arrival. He tumbled into the room and froze up as we pulled apart. For a moment there was this strange look in his eyes and then his usual doltish grin reemerged and he sang: "Awww, look at you two girls going all soft."

Dimitri rolled his eyes and I flipped him off before I added: "See you at dinner."

"Sure", he responded as I skipped back towards the door, "And Ivan-."

I glanced at him, nodding like I was saying 'yeah', so he continued: "It better be a great party."

I laughed and left, hearing the beginning of Leo's interrogation upon the mention of the word party before the door closed. I swear, sometimes, they acted like an old married couple - or rather Leo did. He had a tendency of having some pretty questionable reactions to things involving Dimitri from time to time and every once in a while I wondered... well, talk about unfounded assumptions. My brain really worked in some mysterious ways.

* * *

 **Chapter song: Holding on and letting go - Ross Copperman (a bit of a random choice, admittedly!)**

 **Announcement: This story now officially has a beta! Well, it already had one actually, but I've figured it was past time to make it into public knowledge! My beta (my friend first) is lovely Gaya (aka ohorpheuss) who's been suffering tremendous torture by having me bitch about my writing on daily basis and has taken up the responsibility of pre-reading every chapter (a few times actually since I keep sending her altered versions all the time) and helping me fix it up to the best of her capabilities since I'm (probably) very difficult to work with on the matter (cause I analyze every damn change made by either of us like a million times before I finally publish it)! This would be impossibly hard to do without you girl so thank you!**

 **I hope that you guys liked the chapter and please do let me know what you think about it! Thanks for reading, until the next time,**

 **Kisses T!**

 **P.S. If you somehow managed to miss the opportunity to read some of the best work on FF go to ohorpheuss's account right now and prepare yourself to be introduced to a masterpiece!**


	8. CH8 - Chasing The Sun

**POV: Dimitri**

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this", I mumbled as Ivan readjusted the collar of his shirt one more time.

"And I can't believe you are actually wearing a T-shirt to a party", he responded as I tied my shoelaces and stood up.

"It looks good on him", Leo protested, coming to my rescue as I uncomfortably shrugged.

"Of course it looks good on him", Gaya commented from her unique head hanging from the edge of the bed pose, "You can't have a body like that and not have every piece of clothing looking good on you."

Her comment just plainly made me blush, despite knowing she wasn't aiming to flatter me. She had no brain-to-mouth filter and her comments could sometimes be interpreted in a very wrong way if you ignored the fact that she viewed all of us as nothing more than brothers.

"We should get going", I quickly announced wanting to avoid further talk about my looks.

"Right", Ivan confirmed, rubbing his palms together a bit nervously.

I honestly had no idea what he saw in Savannah Conta. I couldn't deny the fact that the girl was pretty, but she was also the most annoying person I'd ever met. He could do so much better than her, but I wasn't about to burst his bubble by telling him that. I just hoped he wouldn't get hurt, because if that happened I'd have to break some bones and I really didn't want to have to physically harm someone.

"You boys have fun", Gaya voiced as she rolled across my bed and stood up to walk us out, "And don't do anything I wouldn't."

"You mean don't do anything you _would_ ", Leo teased her, but she paid no attention to him.

"I'm sorry, how did you even get into this room?", Ivan finally remembered to ask the question we'd all been wondering since… well, ever since Gaya started hanging out with us here.

"With my witty brains and irresistible charms", she replied through a grin. Ivan shot her a dirty look and she finally admitted, "Okay, okay. I'll let y'all in on my secret. There is a window with a broken lock behind the janitor's closet on the first floor. Nobody seems to have figured it out so far and I suggest you use that secret portal to sneak back in tonight so you don't get your asses into detention."

"How did _you_ figure that out?", Leo questioned through the frowniest face he could make.

"I'm resourceful", she shrugged and that was a good enough reason for all of us.

Moroi dormitories were much nicer than Dhampir ones. They were larger, for starters, and had some additions, like the common room area to which we were currently heading. I didn't know if somebody, at some point, had donated buckets of money to the school in order to get sound proof walls for those rooms, or if they somehow found a way to use magic to keep the noises in while the parties were happening, but whatever the reason the building seemed almost lifeless as we approached it. There were no guardians on duty, which only added to my founded theory that money really could do wonders for the ones that owned it. I had to sneak in through a window whenever we were hanging out with the female part of our group of friends, even when it wasn't past curfew, and now Ivan and I were simply waltzing into the girl's dormitory with no one in sight to stop us. Leo got into a weeklong detention when he was caught with a bottle of beer and I was sure there was plenty of alcohol awaiting us now, despite the fact that almost every single person in there was underage.

"You are judging this so hard I can hear your inner rules-are-there-for-a-reason vibe screaming", Ivan spoke up as he nudged me inside.

"They _are_ there for a reason", I protested as I got hit by the first wave of noise. The sound was still softer than I'd expected, so imagine my surprise when we made it to the common room and I got almost blasted away by the bassline of some modern electronic disaster they classified as music.

All of the lightbulbs were replaced by different ones, which came in various shades of pink, purple and blue, admittedly making the place look more inviting than the screaming daylight ones that were usually there. It was overly crowded and, in my opinion, everyone could have benefited from an opened window or two, but it looked like nobody but me minded the slightly sickening smell, a mix of sweat, alcohol fumes, and cigarette smoke. Maybe I just needed to start drinking straight away so I wouldn't notice the repulsiveness of the whole event that much.

Unlike me, Ivan looked like he'd fit right in. The grin on his face notified me he found no repulsiveness whatsoever in any of this.

"Come on. Let's go get a drink", he shouted, tapping my shoulder.

I simply nodded and followed him towards the improvised bar situated on the opposite end. Before we could get to it though, I heard a piercing noise and a string of giggles as somebody descended on us. All I noticed was a flicker of pink before the figure that emitted the sound found its way into Ivan's arms.

"You made it", Savannah Conta exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, throwing her hands sloppily around Ivan's neck while giving him a kiss on the cheek, her pink dress twirling around her as she did.

"We-, we did", he stammered, his face showing that stupid expression guys would get when they interacted with the girls they had a thing for. Luckily, I had never crushed on anyone so hard I couldn't even look at them without blushing, and I doubted I ever would. My future job as a guardian allowed no distractions such as this.

Savannah glanced up at me with disdain and a sad attempt at a smile as she greeted: "Dimitri, nice to see you as well."

"You too Savannah", I responded as politely as I could, "Thank you for the invitation."

She nodded and then focused back on Ivan who was staring at her as if she had him hypnotized. She smiled at him and for a moment, all I could see was a predator luring its prey in. Her complexion changed so quickly that all I could do was brush the thoughts off as something I'd imagined out of concern for my best friend. She once again looked just like a bubbly and slightly tipsy girl - annoying, but harmless.

"Let's go dance", she exclaimed, tugging Ivan after her.

He peered over his shoulder at me with a pleading expression, like he was waiting for my permission or something. I shook my hand in a 'go' motion, giving him a stiff smile. He was, as far as I knew, completely oblivious to my dislike for the girl he had his mind set on. If he asked me for advice, or an opinion, I would have given both to him without hesitation, but I wasn't about to push my thoughts onto him if he didn't want them. That is why I was pretty certain he didn't notice the stiffness of the smile or my disapproval. He mouthed 'thanks' and then followed her to the part of the room that was obviously intended to be a dancefloor.

I continued pushing my way towards the bar and opted for a bottle of beer when I finally made it there. I briefly considered avoiding drinking any alcohol, but concluded I might need something to take my edge off. I sipped on it slowly, leaning against the very edge of the counter as I glanced around the crowd.

I would have thought this was a Moroi exclusive party if not for the very few Dhampir I saw around, mostly girls. I tried not to dwell on what their presences here meant. Naturally, I caught a glimpse of Konstantin Demidov, which wasn't that hard since he must have been one of the biggest and tallest people in the room, and it was also rather expected since he was what I considered Antony Drozdov's lapdog. Speaking of Drozdov, I saw him too, chatting with some Dhampir junior that looked tipsier than Savannah did. And by chatting I mean probably attempting and most likely eventually succeeding in charming his way into her pants. _Ridiculous._

I pushed myself off the bar and strolled over to an empty sofa that was moved back against the furthest wall. I settled onto it and glanced at my watch before peering through the dancers trying to find Ivan. _Well at least he is having fun_ , I thought as my eyes found his hands, which were currently set very low on Savannah's back. She was grinding seductively against him, but he didn't lose rhythm either. He was actually a pretty solid dancer. Not that I was an expert since dancing was not exactly in my sphere of interests and I didn't think I could dance even if I was paid for it.

Somebody plopped down next to me, but I didn't bother checking who it was. Not until I felt a hand on my shoulder, a light, warm touch. I turned my head around, my eyes meeting violet ones as Emilia smiled at me.

"Hey stranger", she greeted over the sound of the music.

I had to admit I was surprised. Not because I didn't expect her to be here – I figured she would be invited. Not because she was wearing more makeup than usual. Not even because this was the first time I've seen her in an outfit other than the casual one she wore to class - a knee-length floral dress and high-heeled shoes. It was because she was holding a soda instead of alcohol, like every other person here and her expression made it crystal clear she was relieved to run into someone who wasn't exactly in a party mode either. Her words confirmed it too.

"Not really into the whole drink and dance like there is no tomorrow spirit either, ha?"

"Is it that obvious?", I asked, offering her a small smile.

"Very", she confirmed with a thoughtful nod.

"I'm just not really a fan of this kind of music."

"The music is not that bad", she commented, glancing over at the stereo that was currently playing some unbearably loud and scratchy tune, "But there might be a bit too many guests for the size of this place."

"Might?", I exclaimed as some guy nailed the timing, basically tripping over us in an attempt to move around the crowd.

"Definitely", she agreed, crossing her legs and moving them closer to mine, probably wanting to avoid getting stomped over again, "So why did you come?"

"Ivan."

"He is here too?", she asked while I quickly pointed towards where I'd last seen him.

My jaw almost dropped when we both looked up at him. When I last checked he was glued so close to Savannah I briefly pondered whether they could actually breathe in without pushing the other back. Now that tiny distance was gone and they were joined by the lips, passionately making out like there was no one else in the room but them.

"I guess I can see why he is here", Emilia laughed, but when she turned back towards me her expression morphed into one of seriousness, "You look worried."

I had no idea how she managed to read my expression so quickly. Even my best friends had trouble doing it most of the time. I also had no idea why I told her the truth without even thinking it through, but the next thing out of my mouth was: "I am."

She frowned, but didn't ask any more questions on the matter. Instead she offered: "Want me to go interrupt them?"

"You'd do that?", I asked, completely baffled by her suggestion.

"I would if there was a good enough reason for it."

"And you think me being worried is a good enough reason?", I pressed.

"You don't really strike me as the kind of person who acts on unfounded reasons", she stated, without a hint of doubt in her voice.

I was quiet for a few moments, before I decided that, despite the surprising trust Emilia put into my reasoning, I could be exaggerating with my concerns for Ivan's wellbeing. He wasn't a child. He probably knew what he was going, right? Besides, he would hate me if I ruined this for him just because I was overthinking things as I tend to.

"No, that's okay", I finally said doing my best attempt at a carefree smile, "Thank you for offering though."

"No problem", she shrugged before she stood up and added, "I'm going to go get another soda. You want something?"

"I'm good, thanks."

She flashed me another smile and then she was off, fighting her way through the crowd. It wasn't until I couldn't see her anymore that I started thinking what an ass I had been. I should have offered to go and get a drink for her or at least followed her to the bar. _But you don't owe her anything, it's not like you are on a date or something,_ my mind protested. I shut the thoughts down pretty fast though, since there was really no good excuse for not being a gentleman, regardless of our relationship or the lack of one.

I determined the general direction in which she went, before following the same path. I barreled through the people standing in my way and hardly managed to stay on my feet when there were no barriers left between the bar and me. I glanced down it and at first couldn't see any signs of Emilia, but then somebody moved back and I caught a glimpse of her dark locks cascading over the flowery dress as she flipped her hair back over her shoulders. She stood right next to Drozdov, who was giving her that signature smile that wiped up almost every girl he set his eyes on and I noticed her body shaking slightly, like she was laughing. For a moment I considered walking up to her, but gave up on the idea all too quickly, turning around and heading out.

I didn't really know where I was going until I winded up in front of a door on the second floor, knocking on it softly. After a few moments Stacy cracked it open and stuck her head out. Her hair was nothing short of a mess and her freckles were accentuated by the flush of her cheeks.

"Dim-itri, hey", she stammered as I felt the heat running into my own cheeks to match the color of hers.

"Sorry. I obviously interrupted something. I should go", I babbled out, while she peeked back at whoever was in her room.

"It's okay. I'm just, surprised to see you", she quickly responded as my eyes fell on the T-shirt she was wearing.

I recognized it instantly. It was pretty memorable with the 'In my defense I was left unsupervised' slogan written over it. Its owner was also pretty memorable and it wasn't Stacy either. When I met her eyes, I knew it didn't take her long to realize that I'd just put two and two together.

"Don't tell anyone", she blurted with a deer caught in the headlights expression.

"Most importantly, don't tell my brother", another voice joined as the door moved more to allow Misha's head to join Stacy's.

"It's not my secret to tell", I responded, brushing it all off like it wasn't a big deal. And it really wasn't, not to me at least.

"We are not going to hide it forever", Stacy elaborated even though I didn't ask her to, but her words had me wondering an entirely different thing.

"How long-?"

"Five months", Misha cut in, anticipating what I was asking before I could even finish asking it.

As soon as he responded his arm protectively slipped around Stacy's shoulders and she snuggled closer hugging his waist. It was pretty obvious this wasn't just a fling, the way their bodies moved and fit made it evident they were pretty familiar and comfortable with each other. And in that moment all I could do was wonder how the hell I hadn't figured it out before. Suddenly, every little thing that I didn't give any significance to became something entirely different: how they've been constantly sitting next to each other during meals, the fact that when one of them wasn't around the other one wasn't either, Grisha's complaints about how their entire room smelled like a girl was living in it and so many more details that seemed irrelevant at the time.

I blinked at the couple and through an honest smile added: "Good. I'm happy for you guys."

"Thanks", Stacy whispered, biting her lips nervously.

"Don't worry Stacy, I mean it, your secret is safe with me", I reassured her, "As a matter of fact, I was never even here."

"I told you we could trust him", Misha said while Stacy visibly relaxed, "He kept his mouth shut when I broke Leo's PlayStation, so this is nothing."

"PlayStation? Are you seriously comparing our secret relationship to a videogame playing device?", she exclaimed, her eyebrow shooting up.

"Well if you knew how much it meant to him, you'd understand", Misha chuckled and I couldn't help but to laugh as well.

Leo was seriously tempted to murder someone when he found the dysfunctional console left innocently in the corner of his room. I knew what happened to it, because I was simply at the wrong place in the worst time possible, but I acted clueless. Yes, Leo and I were certainly closer, but that didn't change the fact that Misha was my friend too. Also, I had no intentions of getting in-between brothers.

Leo was miserable for days, so Misha took all the money he had saved up and managed to borrow enough from his friends to at least afford a second-hand PlayStation. Naturally, Leo was eternally grateful for the gesture and forgot all about being miserable over his previous one, and so to this very day we'd never told him Misha was the one who created the whole mess in the first place. Some things are just better left a secret.

"I should go", I repeated once again, waving at them as I stepped back, "See you guys tomorrow."

"Bye", they said in unison before Stacy's door closed and they most likely went back to what they were doing before I barged in.

I strolled back down the hallway slowly, more because I wasn't exactly in a hurry to go back to the party and less because it was really dark since the light went off and I didn't bother finding the switch to turn it back on. In hindsight, it turned out not to be such a good idea since I almost lost my head trying not to fall down when I ran into something on the stairs. I swore loudly at the person who left this object there, until the object moved and made a sound.

"Sorry!", they said as I blindly tapped on the wall next to the stairs.

The light sparked up and I looked down at the person curled next to the railing exclaiming: "Emilia, what are you-?"

"Hiding", she cut in, giving me a sheepish smile, "That guy Antony really doesn't know how to take no for an answer."

"And don't I know it", I mumbled in annoyance.

"Oh, was he hitting on you too?"

"What? No, no", I said trying to suppress a gag at the very thought of Drozdov even talking to me, "He just has a reputation."

"He is a womanizer", she concluded, seeming unsurprised, "And very tenacious."

"So why not just go back to your room?", I asked while I shifted my weight to the foot I prompted on the stairs, "It's surely better than hanging out here."

"How else would I've run into you then?", she laughed, before adding something that took me by surprise, "Besides, it's pretty lonely to be in an empty room all by yourself all the time."

I pondered on her words while I pointed to the space next to her and she wiggled to make more room. I sat down and prompted: "So why don't ask for a roommate?"

"I think it might be a bit too late for that now", she elaborated and she had a point, "Maybe next year."

Upon mentioning the following year her face fell. I felt a burning urge to cheer her up for a reason unknown to me so I quickly changed the subject: "What kind of music do you listen to?"

"What?", she asked, unsurprisingly not following my line of thought.

"You said that", I elaborated pointing towards the common room where the muffled noise was still coming from, " _That_ wasn't so bad. Does that mean you like it?"

"Oh, hell no", she exclaimed, shaking her head harshly to underline her words, "It's bearable and I can listen to it if I have to, but I'm more of a classic rock kind of a girl."

"Really?"

"You sound so surprised", she chuckled with amusement.

"I am surprised", I admitted, but made sure to put as much approval as I could in my expression and voice.

"What's your disease?"

"Well classic rock definitely falls into the basket, but I guess you could say I'm just a big fan of all things 80s. Not the haircut trends though, most of them are better left in the past."

She burst into laughter, nodding in approval to my comment before she questioned: "Wait, everything from the 80s music?"

"Pretty much."

"Rock? Pop? Country? Post-punk? Goth?"

"Sure", I said with a small smile, "Post-punk, not so much though. That's Gaya's turf. She also made everyone listen to Goth music one time, and since no one comes between her and her jams because we value our lives too much, it was a… very interesting evening."

"Why does that not surprise me", she replied through a grin before pursing her lips and adding, "Hip hop?"

"Okay maybe not that one", I admitted causing her to giggle.

"I knew I was going to get you somewhere", she proudly announced before she seemed to have remembered something, "You know, I actually have a bunch of CDs with 80s mixes. If you want, you can come up to my room and I can show you."

I was speechless for a few moments. I glanced over at her, not being able to hide my shock upon her invitation. She didn't show any signs of regretting her decision. Actually, she blinked up at me rather innocently, not finding fault in the proposal.

"It's not very smart to invite a guy you hardly know to your room", I blurted out before I could stop myself.

"I wouldn't exactly say that I hardly know you. Besides, I'm sure you'll be a perfect gentleman", she argued confidently.

I was overthinking again, wasn't I? I slowly shifted so that I could stand up and offering her my hand said: "We'll alright then, lead the way Lady Lazar."

"See, a perfect gentleman."

She took my hand and allowed me to pull her up. She was standing one step above me which brought her to a height closer to mine. It also brought her closer to _me._ Our eyes met in the moment the light went off again, leaving us in almost absolute darkness. There were no windows around to provide us with sunlight, but Emilia had a slight advantage since her eyesight was sharper than mine. She tugged my hand and led me up the stairs adding: "Watch your step."

By the time we reached her room, my eyes adjusted to the change so I was forced into blinking when she opened her door and allowed the soft rays of the sun that snuck their way in-between the curtains to bathe us.

The first thing I noticed was that her room was much nicer than mine. Bigger for starters, but then again maybe it just felt that way because of the layout and the lack of one bed, though hers was a queen size. She also had a normal, full-size closet instead of cupboards. The wall color, floor and curtains were the standard ones every room on the campus had, but her decoration style brought some warmth to the place: bright sheets, frames with pictures, books with colorful covers.

"Make yourself comfortable", she instructed, kicking her shoes off and hopping over to her bed barefooted.

She rolled over it and reached somewhere beneath it on the other side, producing a few CD's that had something scribbled on them while I closed the door and shifted uncomfortably, realizing the only place I could sit, aside from the floor, was next to her on the bed. I wasn't sure if she sensed my inner dilemma or if she just thought that it was taking too long for me to do as I was told, but when she turned back around and opened her laptop she patted the bed and added: "It doesn't bite and neither do I."

I smiled to myself, thinking she probably didn't even realize how absurd her words sounded for a Moroi whose main source of food was ingested through biting. I walked over to her, sitting down on the very edge of the bed. Her eyebrow shot up as she chuckled: "That's what 'make yourself comfortable' looks like for you?"

I rolled my eyes and sighed, leaning down to undo my shoelaces. I curled my legs up underneath me and leaned on my palms, teasing her with: "Happy?"

"Delighted", she chuckled as her laptop came to life and she plopped one of the CD's inside of it.

As the first sounds of _Rock You Like a Hurricane_ started playing from the speakers on her laptop she cracked her head to the side, her lips spreading into a satisfied smile as she stated: "This song was released one year and one day before I was born so it was bound the be the first track on the mix. Plus it's rock so, you know, it has priority."

"When was it released?", I prompted while she looked up at me and wiggled her eyebrows.

"Are you trying to learn my birthday or upgrade your knowledge on the rock of the 80's?"

"Both", I laughed, watching her lean back against the bedpost.

"February the 8th is my birthday. The song was released in 1984. You are good at Calculus, right?", she offered and when I nodded she added, "When is yours?"

"Add two days and take out two months", I chuckled, playing on her Calculus joke.

"Noted", she replied, switching to the following song, "So tell me more. I mean if you want to."

"More?", I questioned through a frown.

"More about yourself. I know when you were born, I know you have three sisters, I know who your friends are and I know your taste in music, but that's pretty much it."

"And it's pretty much all there is to me. I'm really not that interesting", I laughed earning an eye roll.

"Fine. Twenty questions?"

My expression was enough to make her realize I had no idea what she was talking about. She chuckled and said 'oh boy' into her chin, before she proceeded to introduce me to the game she intended us to play. I reluctantly agreed to participate, solely because I didn't really want to put myself into a situation where I'd be forced to answer to questions that I might have found too personal. Not that I couldn't simply lie, but then what would be the point. Luckily for me, Emilia kept the questions light, focusing more on my tastes in food, books, movies and other safe topics. I mostly copied her, altering the way I phrased my questions when she'd argue that I shouldn't be repetitive.

She loved books, all types of books, even a few of my favorites. She could watch anything from a romantic comedy to a horror movie, but she preferred the later less. She'd travelled a lot, and almost forgot we were supposed to be playing a game a few times as she went into details about some places that she'd seen. She had slightly more exotic tastes when it came to food, which was probably influenced by her trips around the world. She didn't make many friends while she was living in Court, mostly because she was homeschooled and thus had little time to meet other kids her age. She was pretty tight with her slightly younger cousin Avery though, and I could see while she talked about her that she was missing her dearly.

She told me a little about her family and I told her a lot about mine. Being a child in a family of six certainly meant I had more stories to tell. I never mentioned my father and she only mentioned her mother once. I knew she probably had a good reason as did I, so I avoided the topic altogether.

We went over twenty questions and then some. We talked for so long that my mouth went dry. It wasn't until the sun began esetting that I realized just how much time had really passed. The last mix CD was playing softly from Emilia's laptop and we'd both lost our battle against exhaustion, winding up on our backs staring at the ceiling as we attempted to keep the conversation going. When she jawed for the fifth time in five minutes I finally got enough strength to pull myself up and announce my upcoming departure. It woke her enough to cause her to sit up as well, but not enough to fight me on my decision.

She patiently waited for me to strap my shoes back on before she walked me out wishing me a good night, though our night had officially already passed. I wished her pleasant dreams and told her I'd see her tomorrow. She nodded in agreement as the door closed between us. I already reached the stairs when I heard it opening back up.

"Dimitri?", she called after me, making me stop in my tracks and glance back at her, "You can call me Emma from now on."

I could hardly keep my eyes open, but her words made my lips pull into a lively smile. I didn't respond. I didn't have to. There was a silent understanding between us in that moment that didn't require any further vocal confirmation. With that I was off and she shut the door again.

I walked like a zombie back towards my dorm, but that smile never quite faded. Not even when I had to put some unwanted effort into jumping through the secret entrance Gaya had suggested or when Leo graced my ears with a few distasteful words when my return woke him up. I don't think it even faded when I collapsed onto my bed without bothering to take my shoes off, let alone undress. I'm not sure though, since I feel into oblivion as hard and as fast as my head hit the pillow, the two things happening simultaneously.

 **POV: Gaya**

"Look alive, boys!", I shouted on purpose, making Ivan and Dimitri jump up from their seats.

Ivan cringed, waving at me in a plea for my voice volume to go down, while Dimitri simply fell back into his half sleeping faze, leaning his head onto his palm and muttering a barely audible 'hi' to Sasha and me.

"What happened to the two of you?", Sasha questioned, though I'd already let her in on the secret that wasn't exactly so secretive.

Leo was more than ready to entertain her though, our approach obviously sparking him back to life. He proceeded to, much to Ivan's disapproval, vigorously and loudly elaborate: "They partied the night away with the elite Moroi."

His emphasizing of the word elite didn't escape anyone's notice, but he still added: "You know the richest of the rich. Apparently, even expensive alcohol gives you a hangover."

"I don't know about that", Sasha commented, studying Dimitri, "He doesn't look hangover to me. Just tired."

Dimitri grunted in confirmation, but Leo protested: "He got back when the sun went down. He could barely walk."

As soon as those words left Leo's mouth, Ivan looked up from the nest he had made with his arms on the table, his eyebrow quirking as his eyes met Dimitri's. Dimitri in exchange softly shook his head, an unspoken warning flashing through his eyes. Nobody noticed their little interaction, nobody but me. Mostly because they were preoccupied by Stacy's and Misha's arrival at our busy table, but also because nobody really knew, as much as I did, how the pair functioned through telepathy. It was my never-ending advantage and a thing that drove the boys crazy. After all this time they still weren't used to having anyone cued into their private signals. Luckily for them, I knew how to act clueless, so I pretended to be oblivious to the secret Dimitri obviously hadn't shared yet even with his best friends, not that I wasn't one to him as well and not that he wasn't going to share it with me. Because he was, he just didn't know it yet.

"I thought you came back earlier than that", Philip mumbled to his roommate, forcing Ivan to think on his feet.

"Didn't. You were just too out of it to notice the actual time."

Philip pursed his lips and nodded, taking Ivan's word for it. The guy was a pretty decent liar when he wanted to be and, well, when you didn't know him to his very core. Philip was a part of our group sure, but he was an introvert of a few words thus leading him to be not so closely acquainted with the people he nonetheless considered friends. With everyone else's attention divided and concentration thin the excuse passed, leaving us to simply slip into small talk.

To my utter delight the morning was obviously far from becoming unentertaining, since another surprising occurrence lurked just around the corner. The said surprise had long black hair, violet eyes and a shy smile as it passed by us. It was stopped by none other than Dimitri.

"Emma", he spoke up so suddenly, everyone else fell quiet.

She gave him an innocent, questioning look as he added: "Would you like to join us?"

I couldn't stop my eyes from going a bit wide as he spoke. Philip and Misha weren't really aware of the situation so they looked pretty chill about everything, Stacy and Sasha just smiled, Ivan grinned like an idiot and Leo looked thoroughly lost. Emilia visibly pondered on Dimitri's offer, her eyes gliding over our various expressions, as she secretly attempted to check how we all felt about the idea. My lips moved before she could take another breath as I casually voiced: "Yeah E, come sit with us."

Stacy and Sasha mumbled in agreement and Ivan stood up, rolling a chair over from the closest table so she could oblige. And just like that, Emilia Lazar took her first step towards becoming the newest addition to our family.

* * *

 **Chapter song: Chasing The Sun - The Wanted**


	9. CH9 - Dirty Little Secret

**POV: Dimitri**

This was an ambush. I hated ambushes, especially when they were created by my own best friends. I couldn't exactly fight my way out of them like I would if I was faced with an enemy, which made me hate them even more. Right about now, I'd rather be fighting a Strigoi, maybe even a few of them.

"You just talked?", Ivan asked again like he was having a hearing problem or perhaps a mental one since I've repeated the same line about a million times now.

"Yes, we JUST talked."

"No touching, no kissing, no flirting", Gaya added, almost running now to catch up with my long steps.

"None. So can we please just drop it?", I wined as we rounded the corner.

"Drop it?", Ivan exclaimed waving his hands in the air like a lunatic, "DROP IT? No freaking way. This is the first time you've spent the night hanging out with a girl and you want me to drop it."

"I have three sisters and the same amount of friends that are females. I'm pretty sure it's not even close to the first time", I mumbled in irritation.

"Don't play coy", Ivan warned while Gaya added, "Not the point."

I dug my feet into the ground and swung around, almost making them both knock into me since they were only a few steps behind. I crossed my arms on my chest defensively while I slowly and clearly spoke: "Look, if I ever have anything of any importance to tell either of you when it comes to my non-existent love life, I will. You'll be the first to know. And I can assure you, if it comes to that, it will have nothing to do with Emilia Lazar whatsoever. Are we done?"

"Somebody is touchy", Gaya mumbled rolling her eyes.

"Sure buddy", Ivan said, still clearly unconvinced, but smart enough to recognize it was time for him to retreat, "Whatever you say."

"Don't you two have more important things to do than interrogate me anyway?", I questioned, attempting for the last time to mentally escape this nonsense by distracting them.

"No, not really", Gaya replied yawning lazily.

"Well, truth to be told, I need to run", Ivan admitted his eyes falling onto his watch, "I'm meeting Savannah soon."

"So what, you are dating now?", Gaya asked, evidently not pleased with the idea.

"I guess, yeah", Ivan said through a stupid grin.

"Fantastic", she exclaimed in the most sarcastic tone a living being could manage, "Don't you dare bring her to our table during meals. I'd actually prefer to eat without feeling like I want to vomit."

"Oh come on. She's really not what you guys make her out to be."

"Um, hello, she made my first year around here hell. She stole Sasha's school dance date. She traumatised Stacy for life after she teased her about her freckles for months. Do I need to go on or can we all agree that she is a bitch?"

"We were kids. You can't seriously still hold that over her."

"Oh, but I do. She is bad for you Ivan. Trust me", Gaya warned, making that same knot in my stomach reappear, that same feeling that I had when Ivan kissed Savannah at the party.

"I'll be the judge of that", Ivan retorted, his eyes narrowing like they usually did when he was pissed.

"Whatever", Gaya snapped before turning to me, "You want to go to the gym?"

"Sure", I readily accepted since it seemed like the only possible way to escape the discomfort I was feeling.

Ivan was still irritated when we parted ways, tapping my shoulder as a goodbye and barely glancing at Gaya. At first I thought that she felt indifferent towards his attitude, but once I found myself in a sparring match with her it became more than obvious she was anything but. When she kneed my stomach, making me gasp for air, I rose my palm to signal her to stop and barely pushed out: "W-what is up with you?"

"Nothing", she spat out, wiping the sheen of sweat that had formed on her forehead with the back of her hand.

"You want to try that again?"

"Ughhhh", she cried out, throwing her hands up, "Why are you all acting like idiots?"

"All? What did I do?", I exclaimed, doubling over to rest my palms on my knees.

"You are lying to me. Ivan is dating a bitch. Stacy and Misha are in a secret relationship. I mean seriously, they don't trust us? US? And Leo is-, well he is the only one who is actually acting like his usual self, not that that's a good thing."

"Wait, you know about-?"

"Of course I know about Stacy and Misha. They are not as discreet as they think", she retorted rolling her eyes.

"I'm not lying to you", I argued, accepting the fact that there was no point in denying anything else she'd said, "Nothing happened between-."

"I'm not talking about Emilia", she cut in, losing her patience fast, "Actually, I was almost a hundred percent sure nothing significant happened between the two of you since you wouldn't make the first move even if you were head over heels for her, which you are not. I'm also pretty sure that hooking up with someone is the furthest thing from her mind right about now, since she is still trying to make sense of her new life. I was just testing you earlier and teasing you since you are way too adorable when you are pissed."

"Then what are you-?"

"Field training in Omsk", she mumbled, finally dropping down onto the mat in a defeated manner, briefly squeezing her eyes shut like even looking at me was hard for her.

For a few moments I just stared at her in confusion. It took my thoughts awhile to settle so my mind could remember what she was referring to. When it hit me, the confusion actually only grew. During my last training with Galina she mentioned I'd be going to an estate in Omsk with her next month to practice some actual guardian work. It wasn't something that students my age usually did, but she assured me I was more than ready for it, especially since my job would mostly consist of careful observation and nothing more. I hadn't mentioned this information to anyone yet, not because I had any particular reason to hide it, but because it still wasn't official and I didn't want to jinx it. How Gaya knew this and why she found it important was a mystery to me though.

"So why were you keeping this from me?", she questioned, looking up at me with an odd expression. If I didn't know any better I'd say that she was actually... hurt.

"I would have told you if I knew it was happening for sure and that it was of any interest to you", I responded, slowly settling in front of her.

"It _is_ happening for sure. My mother told me all about it when we talked over the phone this morning. She also didn't leave out the part about how very disappointed she was that I wasn't as good at my future job as my friend", she mumbled, trying to cover up just how much her mother's words obviously bothered her by giving me a fake grin. I could see right through it and she knew it, but she also knew I wasn't going to point it out either.

Truth be told, I had completely forgotten that Gaya's mother was the guardian of one of the members of the Voda family. I knew she lived in Omsk and I should have connected the dots, but I was too excited over the opportunity that Galina presented me with to stop myself from overlooking everything else.

"Gaya, I'm sorry, I didn't-."

"I know", she breathed out, cracking her knuckles distractedly, "It's not really that big of a deal, I'm exaggerating. And it has nothing to do with you really. It's just-."

Her voice trailed off and I reached over, taking one of her hands and fixing the wrap on it so I'd make the gesture less gentle. She despised somebody being too gentle with her. It made her think that they considered her weak and she hated being weak in anyone's eyes, but I needed to at least try to comfort her. Dealing with a problematic parent was something I wasn't a stranger to, though luckily Gaya's story was much less brutal than mine. And yes, I always felt the need to prove myself to others, but it must have been hell to have such pressure put on you by your own mother. My family expected the best from me, but they were there to back me up even when I didn't reach my goals. They were proud of me no matter what and from the little she had told me, Gaya had a very different experience.

"You are just as good as I am. Better even", I reassured her, making her look over at me with her famous challenging eyebrow lift, "Did you or did you not just make me beg for air a few minutes ago?"

She laughed, a soft melodic sound, relaxing her fingers in my palm as I continued to tug at the wrap even though it was set perfectly. I wish I could say more, prove her wrong, break through her barriers and show her she could do more than anyone gave her credit for, herself included, but that was an impossible mission. She was very bullheaded at times, almost as much as I was.

"Do you ever think about the future?", she mumbled, staring off across the gym like she could see beyond its walls.

"All the time", I chuckled, finally letting go of her hand now that her emotions had subsided slightly.

"Yeah me too", she whispered before she turned back to me and added more vigorously, "Do you know what scares me the most?"

I shook my head, finding it difficult to respond since I could sense exactly where this conversation was going. She gave me a knowing look with a stiff smile playing on her lips as she added: "That I'll be a survivor."

Her words didn't need any further explanation, I knew exactly what she meant by them. There wasn't a doubt left in my mind about whose guardian I'd be. Ivan was going to be my charge, we'd agreed on it years ago. Even if I didn't know that, I'd still work my ass off trying to be the best at my job, so that there wasn't a possibility left that I could fail. Knowing that I'd be guarding my best friend, the person I loved, only added more fuel to the fire already burning in me, the desire to top everyone, the energy I needed to work twice as hard, the motivation to give up on everything else for this one person whose life meant more than all of it combined.

Gaya's biggest fear was my biggest fear too. Being the survivor meant that you had failed. It meant that you didn't do your job right. It'd mean that I let down my friend, my brother, my charge, it'd mean that I let myself down. Maybe "They come first" was the usual mantra, but there was another that was just as significant to me, one of my own creations. _Protect him or die trying._

"That's why I hate it when my mother makes me feel like I'm not giving my best, because I want to. It's all I want", Gaya continued, tugging me back from my grim thoughts.

"So prove her wrong", I said like it was the simplest thing in the world. And it was. I proved myself wrong every day. When I felt like I wanted to give up, I'd only push myself that much harder.

"Yeah", was all she responded with before silence settled in and we both got lost in our thoughts.

A few moments later she stood up and offered me her hand. I took it, letting her pull me back to my feet as she teased: "Come on. I want to show you how better than you I am."

"Challenge accepted", I shot back, knowing it was just empty talk on my part. I wasn't going to make it easy for her, but I was going to let her have this one. Not that I thought she couldn't win on her own, far from it. All I knew was that, even if the opportunity presented itself, I wouldn't make the final blow. She needed a win and damn me if I was going to stop her from getting it.

 **POV: Leo**

I had about twenty minutes to blow off some steam before dinner so I made my way towards the gym hurriedly, thinking about going a few rounds with the punching bag. As I neared the double doors the sounds of loud cheering accompanied by heavy grunts filled my ears, instantly peeking my interests. I pushed the doors open slowly, letting my eyes settle on the crowd of Novices that had formed around the center. My curiosity got the better of me, so I quickly elbowed my way past a few of the younger students, ignoring their protests, to check what all the fuss was about. And it looked like I'd arrived just in time to see a spectacle. Dimitri and Gaya almost always created one whenever they decided to spar. They were excellent fighters and they rarely backed down so every match was at least a twenty minute long game in which you only missed popcorn to complete the experience of pure entertainment.

Judging by their looks they've been at it for quite some time, so I knew the grand finale wasn't that far away. Dimitri was currently fighting his way out off a chokehold Gaya caught him in. Sweat was dripping down his face and neck, his shirt soaking it up despite the fact that it seemed like it couldn't possible take in any more liquid without changing its physical state too. His hair was sticking to his forehead and the back of his neck and man, he really needed a haircut. His left arm was marked by four, bright red lines stretching from his shoulder all the way to his elbow, which could be nothing else but the telltale of Gaya scratching him somewhere along the way. His muscles were so strained I thought they might burst and I could tell he was fighting to maintain his breathing under control.

He knocked his elbow into her ribs, crouching slightly while he used his grasp on the arm she held around his neck as leverage to pull her up. She was a tough little beast, clutching to him even when he lifted her completely off the ground. He managed to flip her over his shoulder, but not avoid her knee flying up to his face.

"Ouuuuch", a few people voiced as Dimitri tumbled back, clutching to his nose, while the other half cheered even louder for Gaya who jumped back on her feet.

"That's not fair", some kid shouted while another one shut him up by pointing out, "They said no rules."

Dimitri crunched up his nose like he was testing if it was broken, while shaking out his arms and pulling his shoulder back, jumping up and down a few times as Gaya circled him. She was really giving him a hard time. Not that she looked any more rested. Her hair was sticking out in every direction possible, like she had been electrocuted and a nasty splotch that was already turning purple was gracing her ribs. Bruises rarely showed on her dark skin so I was guessing that was what remained after a damn hard blow that Dimitri had delivered at some point.

When she pounced on him he stepped left, deceiving her by seemingly choosing that direction, before quickly sliding right which sent her flying past him. She managed to stay on her feet until Dimitri kicked her right under her left knee, making her lose balance. The next logical thing was to pin her down while she was still on the ground, but Dimitri for some unexplainable reason paused and lost the shot. He had a chance to prolong the fight if not win it. The opportunity was right there, the few seconds that were more than enough for Dimitri. He was faster than most people and his technics were flawless. He could have finished her off, but instead of getting the upper hand he winded up on the floor right next to her when she jabbed her heel into his thigh.

"Damn it", I mumbled into my chin, crunching my hands into a fist.

He rolled onto his stomach, but she was already breathing down his neck by the time he managed to move. She caught a hold of his arm, twisting it up between her thighs as she pressed down on him with her full body weight. There was no way he was getting out of this one. He wiggled a bit, but eventually ended up admitting his defeat by tapping his free palm on the mat to let her know she could let him up. The part of the crowd that cheered for Gaya went wild and the ones that were rooting for Dimitri looked almost as disappointed as I was sure I did. Though it wasn't an often occurrence, I hated seeing him lose.

Gaya helped him up and patted his shoulder since any further physical contact probably would have glued them together because of all of the perspiration on their skin. When she turned and noticed me she shot: "You here to get your ass kicked too Andreyev?"

"I'm pretty sure you couldn't fight a fly after that", I responded, pointing back towards the place where the match just ended with her victory, while the Novices started pulling away to go back to their businesses.

"Maybe", she chuckled, grabbing the towel Dimitri threw her way, "But I'm game if you are."

"Slow it down lioness", Dimitri warned, grabbing his duffle while he wrapped his towel around his neck, "We know you are the best."

She gave him a strange look, something between pride, satisfaction and thankfulness, though I got the feeling the last one wasn't caused by his praises. It confused me, enough to have me still thinking about it when Dimitri and I left the gym. He stayed around to cool off and waited for me to finish up before we headed back to our room. Too many Novices piled up in the showers at the gym in the meantime so we both decided to just use our private one. I studied him as we walked side by side waiting for the right opportunity to raise the issue. Finally, when I couldn't think of a subtle way to do it I simply blurted out: "You let her win, didn't you?"

"Let her", he huffed through a wince as he pulled the door to our dorm, "I don't think I really had a choice."

"You had an opening when she was on the ground. You could have taken it", I argued as we climbed up the stairs.

"The window was too short", he brushed it off, "Besides, she really tired me down before that so even if I managed to go for it, it wouldn't have done me much good."

I wasn't going to let it go, more because I wanted to know the real reason behind his retreat than because I didn't like being wrong, but our conversation got cut short when Dimitri abruptly stopped a few feet away from our room. I bumped into his shoulder and swayed a little. I glanced up to see someone standing in the hallway just in front of our door. To my surprise I registered that it was a girl. She was just about to knock when Dimitri spoke up.

"Emma, what are you doing here?"

Emilia Lazar jumped up slightly, turning to face us as her face swiftly switched from a surprised expression to an easy smile.

"Well, I was going to ask for the guards to call you, but nobody was out front so I let myself in and then I ran into Mikhail and he told me your room number", she explained, clearly missing what his question was obviously about.

"You should get out of here before they come back and you get into trouble", I warned, but my voice sounded weird even to me as it came out of my mouth. It was like I was threatening her without meaning to.

She seemed unfazed by it, but I didn't miss the frowny glance Dimitri gave me. He was quick to scold his expression though as she added: "Yeah I probably should. I just stopped by to give you this."

She walked up to us and reached into the back pocket of her jeans to pull out a leather cord. It took me a mere second to recognize the black tight woven material coming together through a unique silver clasp stamped with the 'x' and two stars that represented the Zeklos family crest. It was the very bracelet that was gifted to Dimitri by Ivan for his last birthday. I knew it was one, if not the most significant possession of Dimitri's. What I also knew is that he almost never took it off, training aside.

"I found it on the floor. It must have slipped of your arm or something", Emilia elaborated as Dimitri took the bracelet from her carefully, his expression filled with guilt.

He must have felt awful that he had misplaced it. I remembered how much he freaked out when I removed it from the bathroom one time making him think that he had lost it since that's where he expected it to be. His worry and guilt, however, were not what got me instantly agitated. _On the floor where?_ , was the only thought my mind could focus on right now. _The common room in the girl's dormitory? The hallway? Her room?_ And suddenly, I had a feeling that I was missing some part of the story about Dimitri and Ivan's party time, some part that must have been significant enough for Dimitri to leave it out on purpose. I felt this strange feeling coming over me, making my body move on its own accord.

It wasn't until I was already pushing my key into the door that Dimitri spoke up: "Leo, are you okay?"

I glanced back at them, seeing that they stood just where I left them, but they were now both facing me. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I had no idea what was going on inside of my own head and why I felt like I needed to be away from them. Not them, _her_. This girl made me feel on edge ever since I first saw her. There was just something about her openness and this weird air of selflessness around her that made me think that she was just a really good actress and nothing more. Like she was pretending to be this kind and naïve little girl, when she was everything but.

"Fine. Just stinky and sweaty. Dibs on the shower", I pushed out, before I disappeared into the safety of my room.

 **POV: Karolina**

 _You want this, you really want this_ , I repeated to myself as I snuck into the Moroi dormitory. I made my way through it carefully, though there was no one around to notice me. As I passed by the closed doors I could hear various sounds coming from behind them: music, laughter, snoring, depending on what their residents decided to do on this fine Saturday night. I was close to the number I was looking for, it was almost within my reach when a door next to me surprisingly flew open and somebody rushed out, knocking into me.

"Wow, dude I-", he started saying when his blue eyes flashed up to me, "Karo? What are you doing here?"

"Good evening Ivan", I responded playing it as cool as I could, "I'm on my way to see a friend."

"A friend, ha?", he chuckled, his eyebrows shooting up while he ran his hand through his hair, "It must be a really good friend for you to risk detention like this."

"He is, now would you mind?", I impatiently replied while I tried to wiggle my way around him.

"Karo", he tried as I turned to leave.

"Karolina", he exclaimed before he managed to catch my wrist and pull me back.

"What?", I retorted, glaring at him over my shoulder.

"You are a smart girl", he said, his voice lowering, "So don't go doing something that you'll regret later."

"Thanks for the lesson Ivan", I mumbled, tugging my hand out of his hold, "But I know what I'm doing and I don't need you to watch over me. So, do me a favour and keep your mouth shut in front of my brother, yeah?"

"Yeah okay", he whispered, his eyes sinking, which made me realise my words had obviously hurt him.

I lingered in my spot, feeling bad for how I'd acted, but before I could do anything to rectify the situation he walked back into his room, clearly abandoning the idea of going to wherever he was heading before he ran into me and added: "Good night Karo."

The door closed behind him fast and I sighed. I was really acting bitchy, but I needed to shake him off so I could keep my secret "friend", well, a secret. Taking a deep breath I walked the remaining distance, knocking softly on the wooden barrier that separated me from Jack and taking a step back while I waited for him to let me in. Almost as soon as I heard his feet shuffling on the other side my heart began thumping like crazy. He cracked the door open long enough to grab my hand and quickly pull me inside. The moment I was within the privacy of his room, his lips found mine and his body pressed me into the closest wall.

"Who were you talking to in the hallway?", he mumbled between our kisses.

"Your cousin, Ivan", I responded as I fumbled with the zipper of my jacket, which forced Jack to step back.

"He is a cool kid", he chuckled, his eyes sliding down to where my hands were, "He didn't give you any trouble, did he?"

"I don't think he knows it was you I was coming to see, so no, not really."

"Good", he confirmed as his fingers joined mine and he tugged the zipper down before pushing the jacket off me, "Don't be nervous Lina, we've done this a million times before."

"I know", I breathed out as he gently kissed my neck, "It's just that this is, you know, it's going to be more important than it was before."

He froze up a little, slowly pulling back so that he could look me in the eyes. After a few moments he whispered: "We don't have to do anything if you changed your mind."

"I didn't. I want this", I reassured him and myself at the same time.

"So do I, but maybe we should wait a bit more. You know, until we finish school. We are still pretty far away from graduation."

"No", was all I could say and I knew he didn't need to hear anything else. He wanted this even more than I did. He was the one who came up with the idea in the first place.

"Alright Love. If we are on the same page, then let's go work on that future of ours", he breathed out before he tugged me towards the bed.

I considered staying when he fell asleep, cuddling up to him until the morning came, but I eventually decided it'd be better if I left. Besides, I felt too restless between thinking about the future and whether I'd get caught by the guards. I silently got dressed and snuck out of his room, stealing one last glance towards his sleepy, peaceful silhouette before I gently shut the door.

Once alone in the hallway again I felt a shiver working its way up my spine. I was afraid, but it was only natural right? This was a big decision, it was very important. Not to mention it was a decision I had yet to share with my family. I didn't know if I was more scared they wouldtry totalk me out of it or that they would actually support me in it. Either way it was hard to say it out loud, because saying it out loud made it more real.

I wandered down the corridor lost in my thoughts until I heard voices making their way towards me from the entrance of the building. _Shit, I was going to get caught_ , a panicked thought crossed my mind as I backed away from the fast approaching guardians who were on patrol duty. I rushed back towards Jack's room, but before I got to it I found myself pounding on another. I held my breath in as I waited to see whether I'd get saved from at least a weeklong detention before the door moved, letting a dimmed light out into the darkness. He gave me a confused look before he too heard the voice that echoed against the walls and he moved aside quickly while mumbling: "Get in."

I didn't waste any time doing what I was told, dashing inside minutes before the guardians turned the corner, watching Ivan gently press the door to a close. I cast a look around his room seeing that his roommate Philip was apparently spending the night away from his bed as well. Ivan should have been sleeping, but he'd clearly given up on that since the lamp on the nightstand was lit up and an opened book lay next to it.

"That was close", he chuckled softly as I uncomfortably transferred my weight from one foot to another.

Ivan had spent a lot of time around my family and me. He came to visit us at home over a few holidays and I'd never minded his presence. However, I was never really in a situation similar to this one, hiding in his room after doing some not so appropriate things with his cousin. Though, luckily, Ivan and Jack barely knew each other since they weren't close cousins. Still, I felt a blush working its way across my cheeks as he turned towards me and smiled, especially because the family resemblance between them was sometimes surprisingly strong, mostly when they were smiling.

"Sorry for the mess", he offered as he gestured towards the space around us that was everything but messy, "Make yourself comfortable. If I know their pattern correctly, they won't be leaving the building for at least an hour."

When I didn't move he walked towards his bed, sitting on top of it and patting the space bellow his legs. I gingerly settled down and glanced at the covers of the book he was reading.

"The Hell Bent Kid?", I questioned with an amused expression.

"Ah yeah", he replied, lifting the book and closing it to gaze at the cover, "Dimitri got me to read it. His love for westerns is contagious."

"Well you can blame my mother and her precious books that take up most of our living room for that", I laughed, while he placed the book back down and folded his legs underneath him, "Is it any good though?"

"Sure, yeah, it's an exotic read", he chuckled while I kicked my shoes off and pulled my legs up as well, "Tot Lohman is one unlucky dude."

Silence settled for a while as we both searched for something to say. Finally, I added: "I'm sorry about earlier. What I said, it was pretty rude."

"That's okay", he reassured me with one of those easy smiles he often had, "I was pushing my nose into your business so I pretty much deserved a verbal slap."

"I know you meant nothing bad by it", I stressed, wanting to show that I actually appreciated his worrying, "So thanks for, you know, looking out for me."

"Karolina, you don't need anyone to look out for you. You are perfectly capable of doing that by yourself."

 _Am I, really?_ If he was right, if he was really right then I'd be able to protect and take care of more than just myself, right? Then my decision was a good call. I instinctively ran my hand over my stomach as I fixed my eyes on his covers. Maybe it had already worked, maybe I was-.

"You know, you can stay here if you want. I don't mind the company. Philip is staying with his girlfriend anyway", Ivan suggested as I looked back up at him again.

"If I stay, will you tell Dimka about it?", I questioned, tightening the pressure on my stomach like that could somehow guard my secret.

"I-", he started saying uncertainly, "Well, I don't have to, but um, Karo what's going on? You are acting... different."

I pondered on what I should tell him. _The truth?_ No, how could I tell him the truth, what would he think of me? But maybe, just maybe, he'd understand. He was a very understanding person. And it'd feel so good to finally share this with someone. Then again, he was my brother's best friend and he was younger and-.

"Karo?", he prompted while I blinked up at him.

"Nothing. Everything is fine. I'm just a bit moody these days, you know, girl problems", I babbled out. _Oh yeah and I might be pregnant starting from tonight_ , my mind silently added.

"Oh, ugh", he mumbled, "That's tough. I'm so glad I'm a guy."

"You should be", I confirmed through a smile.

"But why do you want me to lie to Dimitri?", he suddenly asked catching me unprepared.

I had to think of an answer fast, any kind of answer that wouldn't include fessing up so I quickly decided on a half-truth: "You know how protective he can get and I just don't want him making a fuss about who I'm seeing. It's my business as you pointed out."

"I see", he muttered thoughtfully before his face relaxed and he smiled again, "Your secret is safe with me. Though give me a heads up if you ever do decide to tell him. He is going to murder me for keeping things from him."

"Duly noted."

I didn't know at which point we fell asleep. I just remembered waking up in the morning, safely tucked under the blanket Ivan had obviously covered me with, sprawled over the foot of his bed while he was laying parallel to me in-between his pillows. What I didn't know is that this night wasn't going to stay as secretive as Ivan promised me it would, but not because of him. It was because neither of us woke when Philip came back into the room and saw us lying on the same bed before he snuck back out. And though, at first, Philip wouldn't even think about sharing what he saw with my brother, certain events that would follow would lead to the silence breaking and things getting a lot messier than I'd intended them to be. Who would have thought that getting caught by guardians and going through a detention week would turn out to me a much better choice?

* * *

 **Chapter song: Dirty Little Secret - The All-American Rejects**

 **Special thanks as always to my lovely beta Gaya for helping me out with this chapter and dialling down the anxiety I felt over certain parts of it (along with my self-doubt)! Love you girl! You are the best!**

 **Also, I guess I'm kind of dedicating this chapter (or at least a part of it) to a wonderful writer who goes around here as megamorr! Her desire to see a sparing scene became my inspiration for the big chunk of Leo's POV and her amazing story Dark Hearts added to that inspiration cause she writes action packed moments perfectly! If you are not already reading her work well, first of all shame on you and second go, go, go read it now! You won't regret it!**

 **Thank you all for reading! Please let me know what you think about the story so far and I guess I'll "see" you all soon!**

 **Kisses, T!**


	10. CH10 - This Is The Hunt

**POV: Dimitri**

"You've been awfully quiet", Galina spoke up after a solid twenty minutes' drive in almost complete silence, if you ignored the soft tunes coming from the radio.

I looked over at her at the same moment her lips tugged into a half smile and she added: "Well, more quiet than usual, that is."

I didn't really know what to say to her. Sure, Galina and I led various conversations over the time she'd been coaching me, but I could honestly say I knew very little about her personal life and I never really thought of asking about it. She was my mentor and I respected her privacy even more because of that. Since we'd already covered all of the topics about my training, the information about the Voda family and their personnel, and we'd led small talk for several hours, we were left with very few topics that we could engage in. Besides, being stuck in a car with someone for the second day in a row sort of limited your desire to interact.

I wondered why she picked a car as our means of transportation. I looked up the prices of the plane tickets and came to the conclusion that the final cost of both trips would be very similar. That was until I snuck a peek into the trunk yesterday morning and saw one of the bags that she'd packed. Stakes, ultraviolet flashlights and guns would probably be hard to explain to the people working at the airport. I'm certain she could have pulled of some trick, got some fake papers and a damn good story to justify all the artillery, but why go through the trouble. The only down side of us taking a car was the hours it took us to get to our final destination. We had to drive up to Nazarovo, a little past Krasnoyarsk, where we spent the night, before heading to Omsk today. Sure it was a long ride, but I didn't mind those, especially when I could wordlessly sit listening to music while gazing at the beautiful nature around me. Sadly, that wasn't something Galina was obviously into.

When I still didn't respond she stole a quick glance towards me and reassured me: "There is no need to be nervous, Dimitri."

"I'm not nervous", I automatically responded, making her chuckle for some reason.

I wasn't nervous. I was freaked the hell out. It wouldn't be very smart to admit it though, this was what I'd been training for and I didn't want to disappoint her after all of the attention she'd given me. If I couldn't handle a single day out in the field when there were little chances I'd get to see any action, how was I supposed to guard Ivan for the rest of our lives?

The click of the turn signal was followed by a slightly sharper tug of the wheel as Galina drove the car off the road. She eased to a stop, the gravel underneath us crunching softly as she did. I frowned as I scanned our surroundings, taking in the sight of the tree branches as they leisurely swayed on the gentle wind, the wide patch of earth that led to the edge of a rather high cliff and the river that ran bellow us looking so small in its distance. It was a beautiful sight I'd admit, but it was also nowhere near the Voda estate.

She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door, casting a quick: "Follow me."

I did as I was asked, hopping out of the car too and prolonging my steps as much as I could so I'd catch up to her since she was already halfway to the metal fence that was set up on the brink. When she reached it, she grabbed the railing tight and pulled herself up, sliding her legs over it so that they dangled on the other side. For a moment my heart actually skipped a beat since it seemed like she could easily fall from her position. She wiggled a little as I closed the remaining distance between us, making sure she was securely seated before she peered at me over her shoulder and questioned: "You are not afraid of heights, are you?"

I shook my head and took the hint, carefully climbing up so that I could sit next to her. Maybe I _was_ afraid of heights, but didn't know it yet, since seeing my feet floating above what was a very, very long fall to the sharp rocks that banked the river made my breathing a bit strained. Galina, on the other hand, looked completely relaxed. She closed her eyes and threw her head back, letting the rays of the setting sun bathe her face. Seeing her so at ease made some of my tension slip away and my grip on the railing below looser.

"Do you know why I asked to be your mentor?", Galina spoke up, while she was still examining the inside of her eyelids.

"No."

"I saw a great potential in you and I wanted to help you achieve it", she elaborated before her eyes snapped open and she focused on me with such intensity I thought she was going to nail me to my seat, "And the other, less professional reason was that you reminded me of the person I love the most in this world."

I was surprised and fairly certain that was more than evident on my face since she quickly added: "My brother, David Belov."

For a few moments I thought I must have heard the name wrong. David Belov was someone every young Novice strived to be, a role model. He was one of the greatest guardians in history and I didn't say that lightly. He was also one of the very few people who'd reached the Blood Master Level 7 - the highest level in Guardian standards - at the youngest age so far. I remembered Leo saying once that ' _They are going to have to invent an eighth level just for his stubborn ass'_ , and I'd have to say I didn't think he was too far off the mark. He advanced so quickly in his line of work that he was now a member of the Queen's guard.

"I can literally hear your mind going into an overdrive", Galina laughed, reminding me that we were in the middle of a conversation before I started hero-worshiping, "And I know the different surnames might be confusing. David is my half-brother, but to me it's a "full" rather than a "half" sort of a thing."

"And I remind you of him because-?"

"Because he was just like you at this age", she cut in, looking away and biting her lips as they once again pulled into a small smile, a sign that there were probably some fond memories passing through her head, "A bit cockier if you don't mind me saying, but a dedicated, talented, hardworking guy. So many younger Novices looked up to him, his peers did too. I worshiped him, but also envied him because in my eyes he was basically incapable of messing things up."

"When I graduated, he was already working his way up the Royalty ladder and it was expected of me to do the same. You see, the older we got the more I retreated into this enormous shadow that he had casted over me, without meaning to really, so fighting my way out of it at that point seemed almost impossible. But following his footsteps wasn't my dream, I really always wanted to be a teacher", she continued as she began swaying her legs slightly, focusing on her shoelaces, "And you know what my brother told me when I admitted it to him? He told me that he was proud I'd finally decided to stand up for myself and shine. That I should do what I want, like he did, and not care about what others think or say. The most valuable lesson he gave me: _'The only way to achieve greatness is to dedicate all your effort and willpower to the thing you desire the most out of life'_. It's a different thing for everyone really, but it takes the same amount of effort either way."

She placed a hand on my shoulder and turned towards me, which only made me realise she was closing in on the purpose of her talk, the reason she gave me all of this information.

"There is one thing though, one very important thing that David asked me to never forget - to teach my students that they also, no matter what, can't let the rest of the things that life has to offer pass them by. That was his mistake, the one he'll probably regret for a long time - missing the opportunity to make friends, to have fun, to fall in love. He seemed so flawless, but in that flawlessness he'd found his faults. You are going to be a brilliant guardian, I don't have a speck of doubt when it comes to that, and all of the fears you have right now are only going to make you stronger, braver and tougher. I've been watching you train for years Dimitri, I've been your mentor for a while now too. You truly are here because you are ready to take on more. I just wanted to ask you, no beg you, don't forget that you have a life of your own too. Don't let it pass you by while you worry about the mistakes that you're not even likely to make."

I was speechless so I did the only thing I could, I nodded and gave her the most grateful smile I could conjure up. She nodded too, like we were having a silent agreement about her words. This was a lecture, but this time it was about life, not being a guardian and it was one of the most significant lectures she'd given me.

"And don't be so damn shy", she exclaimed, now completely losing her usual professional mask, "You are a wonderful person Dimitri. Let other people see it more."

"Thank you", I replied, feeling a blush creep up my cheeks.

We both cast a look towards the mountains opposite of us and I added: "Galina? Can we stay here a little longer?"

"Of course we can Dimitri. Of course we can."

 **POV: Emilia**

"You are getting really good at that", I commented as the cup before Ivan filled and the surface of the water in it stilled.

"Yeah", he said, proudly staring at his achievement, "And to think that I bitched about what a failure I am just a month ago."

He looked up at me, his smile dropping as he realized what he'd said and how wrong it was to say that to someone who still felt like a complete failure all the time when it came to their magic, or rather the lack of it. I wasn't about to ruin his moment though, so I forced myself to smile and exclaim: "They might declare you the student of the month in Elemental Control."

"Dial it down in the back", the teacher lazily peeped since he was probably the most disinterested person on the planet when it came to his students and their progress. That might be due to the fact that he was just a substitute. According to Ivan our regular teacher was _the_ _reincarnation of the devil himself_. It was safe to say I was _not_ looking forward to him returning.

"I don't think there is such a thing as student of the month", Ivan replied as his lips set back into their previous position.

"Well there should be", I prompted, my eyes falling back on the cup.

Water. Maybe that was my element too. Or fire. Or air. I'd be happy even if it was earth, just as long as I got to use it sometime soon. Ivan must have noticed my concerned look since he quickly suggested: "You want to see something cool?"

He was trying to cheer me up and I appreciated his effort, so I nodded and stepped next to him when he signalled me to. He placed his hand over mine and held it above the cup. At first nothing happened, but then the water started bubbling. It wasn't until the entire cup began jumping up and down that I whispered: "Ivan, I think-."

I never finished my sentence. The water burst out of the cup, flying up in a geyser above our heads before surging back down towards us. I took in a sharp breath and waited to feel the cold shower, but before the water could touch me it twirled in the air and bent. Against all odds of physics it transformed into a tiny stream that floated above us before it circled us, going in a spiral around our bodies. When it brushed against my arm, leaving it slightly wet, I giggled and peeked at Ivan who wouldn't even blink so he'd avoid breaking his concentration. That was why I knew that what followed was my fault really.

I turned my head more, looking up at him as I concentrated on the stream that flew past his head. His eyes were stuck to it as well, so he didn't notice me at first. He let it linger again just above us and I forced myself into the same unblinking state despite my eyes begging me not to. I was so focused, so determined to prove to myself that this was indeed my element or to at least eliminate it as an option once and for all, that I didn't even take notice when I moved. With only a breath away from Ivan I felt like I was almost gazing through the water, but not that far beyond. And then something odd happened.

He looked down, his head shifting in a way that gave me a clearer view of the "cloud" of water. I didn't know if it was the light in the classroom or a reflection of some kind, but for a moment I swear I could see faint colours moving bellow the water, right there above his head. A mix of orange, pale yellow, green, turquoise, indigo, light blue and lavender, and then a sudden and sharp flash of a muddied red as the water tumbled down on us.

"Shit", he gasped as we jerked apart, his hair gluing to his forehead instantly as it got drenched, while his shirt absorbed the rest.

I blinked through the droplets that slipped down my face and blindly tapped on the desk behind me so that I could lean on it. A few of the students who were watching the show stifled their laughs and turned away as Ivan added: "I'm sorry, I-."

"It's okay. It's my fault, I stepped into your personal space", I mumbled out as I turned to dig through my bag for tissues.

"No, it's not that", he argued, taking one of the tissues from me and tapping his face with it, "I think I just got tired. Or maybe I'm simply not the student of the month after all."

"No, you were incredible", I contradicted, still feeling a little stunned, "I-."

I swayed on my feet, but luckily Ivan's reflexes seemed to have been working well since his hand shot out and his fingers wrapped around my arm to keep me in place. I felt dizzy and the image of Ivan's face became a bit blurry as he studied me with worry.

"Emma, are you okay?"

"Fine", I pushed out, "I just need to sit down."

I felt him move, but I wasn't paying attention to it anymore. Instead I just squeezed my eyes shut and tried to shake off the sudden feeling of weakness in my feet. I heard him pulling out a chair and somebody asking: "Is she alright?"

Only when he helped me to the chair did I dare to open my eyes again. I noticed Stacy had joined us, her head popping out from behind Ivan's.

"Did you participate?", she wondered as I took a few deep breaths and leaned back.

"Participate?"

"In controlling the stream", she elaborated while my vision began clearing up, "Cause you look just as exhausted as I was the first time I managed to get a hold on my element."

"And you looked very concentrated there for a second", Ivan prompted, relaxing slightly when he noticed I was slowly recovering from whatever just happened to me.

"No, I don't think I did", I mumbled, shaking my head as I sighed and attempted to get stand up again. It took some support from Ivan, but I soon found my way back to my feet and just in time too since the bell rang announcing the end of the class.

"Are you sure?", Stacy questioned studying me.

"Positive", I replied, reaching for my bag.

Ivan beat me to it, collecting my books fast and stuffing them inside of it before he tossed it over his shoulder and declared: "I'm taking care of this until I'm sure you won't faint."

I wanted to argue, but I knew there was no point in it. Though Ivan was an easygoing guy most of the time, he'd turn into an iron-willed person once he'd made his mind up on something. I've began learning things about the personalities of the people I spent the most time with and started acting accordingly. Ivan was one of those people, as were most of his closest friends. The only mystery left in their group was, naturally, Dimitri. Not that it was surprising, since I got the feeling that sometimes even his closest friends couldn't decipher his moods and thoughts. I picked up a few things about him though, mostly by observing what little of his reactions he'd let show. What helped a lot was that he was no longer avoiding me and he'd begun acting relatively normal towards me.

"You think you can walk on your own?", Ivan asked, tugging me from my thoughts.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it", I responded, following him and Stacy out into the hallway.

I waited for Stacy's attention to be captured by Sasha who joined us on our way to the yard, before I dared to add: "Ivan, can I ask you something?"

He must have noticed how quiet my voice was and how I kept an eye on the girls in front of us, making sure they wouldn't hear us, so he just nodded to maintain the secrecy I was attempting to create.

"When you use your magic do you-, do you ever see something that usually isn't there?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"Like, I don't know, colors or reflections?", I prompted, running my teeth back and forth over my lower lip nervously.

"No", he responded through a frown, "Why?"

"No reason", I quickly supplied before I called out to Stacy, cutting our conversation short so I'd avoid any questions aimed at me and my strange behavior.

The last thing I wanted was to admit that what just happened - the flash of various colors, the dizziness, the tingling in my body, the odd mood that follow - didn't happen to me for the first time and I could bet it wouldn't be the last time either. What worried me even more than the fact that I still haven't specialized was that there was something unusual happening to me and I was not, under any circumstances, letting my newly made friends think that I was a freak. Nope, not happening!

 **POV: Dimitri**

Unsurprisingly, barely any attention was payed to our arrival. It wasn't like we were even close to what one might call people of importance for most of the residents of this enormous estate. The only person who actually took notice was the man we were going to shadow for a few days, Vladimir Voda. He gave us a stiff smile and a few words before he left his guardian to deal with us. Galina carried herself well, acting professionally, but I could see a hint of disapproval in her eyes that reassured me I wasn't the odd one out thinking that this was no way to treat your guests regardless of who and what they are.

The guardian we were left with somehow seemed familiar to me right from the jump. I could guess by her looks that she was most likely in her forties. She was dark skinned and her curly hair was cut shorter than mine. She had big, dark brown eyes that had a slightly distracting depth to them and she was a rather beautiful woman, despite the obvious toll her age and work had taken on her, visible by the wrinkles on her face. She shook hands with Galina, before she turned to me and in the moment I clasped her hand and she spoke I realized who she was: "Hello Dimitri, it's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot of great things about you. I'm Guardian Carina Valente."

Her last name confirmed my assumption. Gaya really looked a lot like her mother, the only exception being their smiles. Though Carina's was just as charming as Gaya's, it lacked a certain radiance I was used to.

"It's an honour to meet you, Guardian Valente. I've heard a lot about you too", I responded, hoping she wouldn't notice that I'd left out the 'good' part. Truthfully, Gaya had very little positive things to say about her mother.

After we were done with the pleasantries, we settled in and Galina told me I could take a walk if I wished to stretch my legs and get more familiar with the surroundings. I was quick to accept her offer and decided to try to seek out some guardian on patrol that I could join so I could get to work as soon as possible.

As it turned out, I wasn't going to stay away from Guardian Valente for too long. Not that I wanted to, she was someone with just the right amount of experience to teach me the things I had yet to learn. I ran into her near the front gates and she gladly accepted my company. Though it became clear to me pretty fast that her easy-going attitude was just an act she used to lull me into a false sense of security before she, at some point, started questioning me. And when I said questioning, I meant full-blown investigative work. She asked me a lot about my training, about school and then she got to the thing that obviously interested her the most - her daughter.

"Do you spar often with Gabriella?", she asked, when I'd mentioned practicing with my friends outside of class.

Gabriella? I'd only heard that name once, and got an hour-long threatening session from the person who carried it. She vowed to end my life in a very painful way if I was to ever repeat the said name in front of anyone. Before that I only knew her last name since it was used by our teachers and her nickname that she'd used to introduce herself.

Her big secret was disclosed by mere accident, during our mutual time in detention after one of the countless pranks Ivan and Gaya pulled on the school's staff went wrong and I, per usual, managed to convince Ivan to let me take the fall so he'd avoid his parents **'** fury. The two of us were sent to the tiniest storage room on the planet where we were to sort out countless dusty student files. Naturally, we got bored pretty fast and decided to pass the time by sneaking a peek inside those files before we'd put them away, learning a lot of interesting information about our fellow classmates. I found hers and opened it before she could stop me, which resulted in this revelation.

I had no idea why she was so upset about it and why she was so adamant about her refusal to let anyone call her by her given name. Now I knew. I knew that she could probably only think of her mother's scolding tone whenever she heard it.

It also finally became clear to me why Gaya mentioned this woman so rarely. She was a brilliant guardian, which was more than evident just from this little time that I'd spent with her, but she was nothing like I thought a mother should be. Maybe this was the cost of seeking out a carrier as a female guardian. Maybe my mother would have turned out the same way if she'd chosen a different path for herself. All I know was that I was glad Olena was nothing like Carina.

"Yes", I responded after I managed to drag myself out of my thoughts, "We spar very often."

"Who usually wins?", she prompted through a tight smile and I couldn't stop a frown from forming on my face.

"There are no winners. Not unless you fight against the real enemy out there", I replied, casting a look outside the tall metal fence almost like I was expecting the real threat I was talking about to show up just to prove my point.

"You are very mature for your age Dimitri", she commented, not like she was praising me, but like she was simply concluding it though I gave her no means to do so in such a brief conversation, "Hopefully, you'll influence Gabriella to become more like you."

"Hopefully, it will be the other way around", I retorted sharply despite my attempts not to lose my temper. I didn't like the way she was referring to her own child, her only child. It was as if this woman was incapable of saying one simple thing about her daughter without making it sound like she was constantly looking for flaws. Gaya had very little of them in my opinion and despite what Carina said, I strongly believed that I had more to learn from Gaya than she had to learn from me.

"You'll have to excuse me", I added as I came to a stop, "It's been a long trip and I should probably get some rest."

"Of course. Have yourself a good night. We'll see each other tomorrow."

I nodded in a goodbye and dashed across the yard as quickly as I could. Galina and I were given guest rooms on the main floor, so getting to the privacy of the four walls that were going to be my resting place for the remaining days of this week, didn't take a lot of time. Once there I tumbled onto the tiny bed in the corner of the room and glued my eyes to the ceiling. It didn't take long for sleep to claim me. Well, it certainly took less time than the following nights, where all I could do was toss and turn from all the unused energy building up inside of me.

I quickly learned that real Guardian work obviously wasn't always as daring and eventful as I grew up thinking it would be. Actually, it mostly included plenty of standing around through a bunch of long and boring meetings. Vladimir was the owner of some textile company or whatever it was, which was clearly very time-consuming and required a lot of travelling around, so driving, a lot of driving, was the second most current activity. Checking and rechecking the parameters wherever we went was the closest thing to actual active work we had.

Galina used the time we'd spent commuting to give me quick lectures or point out the things I should pay more attention to. At first it seemed like Carina was simply Vladimir's shadow, doomed to boredom because of his tiresome business, but then as Galina's lectures continued I started noticing how discretely Carina actually did all of her work. I started noticing everything I'd learned during training so far, well, with the absence of actual fighting. And she was good, really good. Still, I wondered how often she actually ran into any real problems. Looking back at that, I really wished I hadn't pondered on it enough to summon trouble like I did.

We had only one more day left before our return to Saint Basil's was due, when Vladimir decided to take us out to dinner. It was a nice gesture, one I hadn't expected, but he seemed to be very pleased by what we'd be doing, though I felt like it was barely anything, and wanted to show his appreciation. He teased me about putting dibs on me before somebody else had a shot at hiring me once I graduated, but Galina politely cut in by telling him I was already promised to someone. 'Promised' sounded like an odd word choice since Ivan and I never made it official to anyone outside of our friends and family what our plans were, but Galina must have paid more attention to my personal life than I thought. I guess that could explain why she felt the need to tell me about her brother and give me a life lecture.

As we were leaving the restaurant Galina and I stayed in the back, letting Carina and Vladimir make plans for the weekend, while we planned our trip back. We were going to arrive on Sunday evening which gave me some time to collect my thoughts and get some rest before classes. We were all pretty distracted by our conversations, but that didn't stop any of us from tensing up when we heard a muffled scream coming from the back alley of the restaurant. Carina's head wiped around, allowing her to meet Galina's eyes and share some unspoken plan with her.

"Get in the car, Lord Voda, and lock the doors", Carina said to Vladimir who was quick to do as he was told as Galina tugged her stake out of her holster.

"Dimitri, stay with Guardian Valente", Galina instructed before she hurried into the direction the noise came from.

I listened to my mentor's orders despite every fibber in my being begging me not to. I reminded myself that she knew what she was doing and that I'd probably just be a distraction and get in her way. Moments felt like hours though, as Carina and I stood side by side in front of the car waiting for a movement or a sound. When it finally happened it was just Galina jogging back towards us with a worried expression.

"No sight of anyone", she told Carina when she stopped before us, "But there was some blood on the ground."

"We should go", Carina concluded as she cast a look towards her charge.

I heard the car grumbling to life and turned towards the blinding headlights as Vladimir motioned us to join him with obvious worry on his face. I had no idea if his state was caused by the fear for his own life or by actual concern for ours, but for a moment it felt contagious. A chill worked its way up my spine because of this strong sense of anticipation lingering in the air. The deathly quiet night was only adding to the horror movie atmosphere. Carina moved and I was about to follow when I heard a shuffle of feet that was way quicker than mine and was evidently not made by my company either. And then I felt somebody knocking into me with full body force.

I tumbled forward as Galina's arm shot out to stop me from falling. The two Guardians moved in a blink of an eye, preparing their weapons and stepping around me. I turned just in time to see two pairs of red-ringed eyes staring us down and I froze. Completely and entirely froze. I'd been learning about Strigoi since I could walk. I'd heard terrifying stories of the villagers who'd claimed to have encountered them and lived to tell the tales. My grandmother and mother warned me about all of the places where they could lurk, all of the ways that they could surprise you and kill you. They didn't do it to scare me, but to protect me from strolling into danger. I'd read about them in school, saw gruesome documentary footages and learned all the ways to kill them. I'd dreamt about them. But still, all of this combined wasn't enough to prepare me for this moment. Seeing them, right before me, caused a fear unlike any I'd ever felt before to spread through my whole body.

"We just had dinner, but I'm so glad we get to have desert so quickly", one of the monsters snickered before he hurled towards Carina. Luckily, she anticipated his movements and readily engaged into battle.

"Stay back", Galina ordered through gritted teeth as she took on the other one.

I had a stake, it was right there pressing against my thigh, but taking it out and holding it in my hand felt like an invitation for these evil things to attack me. An invitation I didn't want to, but had to give. As the Strigoi Carina was fighting flew past her I managed to scrape his neck with the tip of my weapon. He growled angrily, but didn't have any time to hit me since Carina grabbed him by his hair and dragged him back, delivering a few admirable blows to his side.

I focused back on Galina just in time to see her digging her stake into the Strigoi, who moved at the last moment causing her to miss his heart. He jerked back, ripping out of her hold and I used the opportunity to call out to her. She glanced at me quickly as I threw my stake her way since I knew there were little chances she'd get hers back in time. It was a good call, but it was also a chance for the Strigoi to recover from the shock and claw the stake out of his chest. He threw it away and screamed in rage before he dashed towards Galina making her bounce off under the incredible impact and slam into the car. She slummed down as I raced towards them, distracting the Strigoi in hopes that it would give her enough time to get back on her feet.

It turns out my plan was flawed, since Galina obviously got injured more than I initially thought. I stole only a quick look, seeing her unconscious and curled up on the ground with a loose hold on her stake. Carina was still engaged in her own fight, so it was just me and a very angry beast looking for his next target. I was on my own, with no weapons and no back up, faced with a deathly creature that wanted nothing more than to rip me to shreds. I had to think fast, faster than I ever had during classes and training, faster than I ever had in my entire life. The Strigoi moved and I threw myself towards Galina, my fingers touching the cold silver resting on her palm as I felt a hand curling around my biceps. It all happened in a blink of an eye really - fangs in my shoulder, stake in my hand and a cry that echoed through the night as my heart slammed against my ribcage one more time.

* * *

 **Chapter song: This is the hunt - Ruelle**

 **I know, I know! This was a very sudden and dramatic ending! Hopefully, I'll update the following chapter soon though since it's already mostly written!**

 **Anyhow I wanted to take a moment and thank all of you who have reviewed this story so far (especially my most dedicated readers - you girls know who you are) and ask the rest of you: Where y'all at? I'm not a scary person you know. You can PM me or review my work without getting your heads bitten off!**

 **Seriously though, I can see this story is getting a hell of a lot views, so it gets a bit discouraging when I don't get much feedback from you guys! So please do let me know what you think about this story so far and maybe tell me about the things you'd like to see in the following chapter (maybe I can grant some wishes)!**

 **Anyhow, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! "See" you around!**

 **Kisses, T!**


	11. CH11 - Wind Of Change

**POV: Emilia**

I could hardly believe it was already November. After so many dramatic thoughts I had ever since I'd moved to Russia, like _'How will I ever survive this?'_ and _'Will this ever get better?'_ , it was difficult for my mind to wrap around the idea that I was already into my second month in this school. Catching up in classes, fitting in among the students, making friends - I used to think it was all one big fat mission impossible for me. Making a routine was not easy, but it somehow happened along the way and it escaped my notice. I sometimes missed home, my dad who had hardly any time to call me lately, my cousin Avery whom I'd gotten so used to seeing whenever I wanted that was now too far away, but mostly I was just too busy dealing with life right here and now to wallow in it too much.

This Saturday started off with a bright night sky. Though I think the night was very sunny, the heath didn't linger because... well it was November in Russia, why do you think? It was more bearable than I'd thought it would be. I kind of expected there to be snow all the way up to my chin, but so far the shiny white stuff was a no-show for some reason.

What made the morning even nicer was the angel sent from heaven in the form of a girl who had a way of making the most unexpected things happen, like getting breakfast to go despite the fact that taking food out of the cafeteria wasn't allowed. The smell of a fresh cup of coffee filled my nostrils as soon as I let Gaya into my room. She was dressed in her usual _My clothes come in every color_ outfit combination and her hair was pulled into two tiny buns on each side of her head.

"Here is your disgusting concoction", she said as she handed me my cup and placed the rest of the breakfast on my nightstand.

A rainbow colored bag hung loosely on her shoulder and she threw it near the foot of my bed as soon as her hands were free. She sprawled over the bed, acting like she owned the place as always and I couldn't stop myself from smiling. Her ability to make herself at home wherever she was seriously astonished me. It certainly couldn't have been easy feeling so comfortable with everything all the time. As I wrapped the blanket that was draped over my shoulders tightly around my body and sat down next to her, I realized she wasn't wearing a jacket when she came in.

"You do know it's not summer, right?", I questioned as she rolled over onto her stomach and propped herself on her elbows.

"I'm painfully aware of it, yes. If it was summer I wouldn't have the need to bring a bag full of books to your room and study", she responded with the most comical, devastated expression.

"Then why are you walking around in a short-sleeved shirt and that thin sweater?"

"Why are you wrapped like a burrito?", she shot back, pulling the blanket up and letting some of the warmth escape from underneath it.

"You are from Brazil. Aren't you supposed to feel even colder than I do?", I exclaimed, slapping the top of her hand to make her stop what she was doing.

"I've acclimatized", she huffed before she pushed her foot under the shoulder strap of her bag and lifted it up proudly without the use of her hands, "Now come on, let's do this studying shit so I can spend the rest of the day indulging in activities I actually like."

For somebody who seemed only mildly interested in any education that didn't include punching and stabbing, Gaya was actually a very decent student. She'd get annoyed quickly by the thing she couldn't understand and bitch about it plenty, but she was as stubborn as a mule so giving up was never in the cards. I never had a problem with studying. Don't get me wrong, I didn't like it, but I didn't despise it either. And I found it ten times easier when I wasn't forced to do it alone so having a study buddy, even one who'd throw things around my room or punch the feathers out of my pillows when she didn't get the answers right, suited me.

After three hours of brain cells exercises and another cup of coffee that Gaya snuck into my room, all of our homework was finished and we even did some research for our Moroi Culture projects, the one I was supposed to be doing with Dimitri. He was away though and Sasha, who was Gaya's partner, didn't feel well this morning so the two of us filled the roles of our missing partners for one another.

When a knock on the door filled the relative silence of my room, Gaya looked up from my laptop and arched her eyebrow.

"Are we expecting company?"

"Not that I know of", I commented, rolling over the bed and hopping towards the door.

I found Stacy on the other side with the most serious expression I'd ever seen gracing her face. She peeked past me and nodded to Gaya who probably jumped off the bed by the sound of it and tumbled towards us while asking: "What is it?"

"I don't know yet", Stacy responded through a heavy sigh, "But Dimitri is back."

"Wasn't he supposed to arrive tomorrow evening?", I questioned, jumping up slightly when Gaya loudly began collecting her things and putting her shoes back on.

"He was. They flew him in this morning, but he was escorted straight to the principal and-."

"Where is he now?", Gaya cut in, pushing me aside.

She looked panicked, all her usual cheerfulness and brightness vanishing in an instant. I had no idea why she'd have such a strong reaction, I mean something was wrong, but it obviously wasn't tragic if Dimitri arrived and there wasn't a casket involved.

When Stacy didn't respond straight away, Gaya grabbed her shoulder and shook her demanding: "Anastasia, where is he now?"

"T-the main common room, I think", Stacy stammered out before Gaya pushed past her and we basically had to run to catch up to her. When the cold air outside glided across my feet I realized I'd forgotten to change out of my slippers. There was no going back now though, not if I ever wanted to catch up to Gaya.

"Gaya slow down", Stacy begged as we neared her.

"If he returned early that means something happened, something bad", Gaya mumbled into her chin and kept going like we weren't even there.

"Well that'd be unfortunate, but why does that upset you so much? I mean, Dimitri is clearly alive and probably alright since they took him to the principal and not the infirmary", I pondered out loud like she just did, not expecting to get an answer, but suddenly she twirled around and her eyes went wide.

"My mother is the guardian that he was with. If something bad happened-."

She didn't finish, she didn't have to. Stacy and I now knew exactly why she was losing her head and it was enough for the three of us to start running towards the common room as fast as we could. We didn't even pass the threshold when we were stopped by a crowd of other students. Harsh murmurs travelled back and forth around us, but I heard one single voice topping all of them.

"Let the guy breathe a little, won't you?", Leo shouted as Gaya barreled through the people and Stacy and I followed.

"They got attacked in a populated area, can you believe that?", somebody whispered next to me while the person they were talking to shot back: "Well, at least they all survived."

Gaya must have heard the last thing too since her resolve to get to the front faded a little and she dialed down on the force she used to make the people before us move.

"Oy, back the fuck away", Leo roared as we resurfaced, making a few younger students jump back in fear.

"Seriously people, leave him be", Sasha backed him, standing up to obstruct the view everyone had on the two people sitting behind her.

"Beat it", Gaya growled at some poor kid while Leo and Sasha wordless moved to let us through.

Gaya fell to her knees right in front of Dimitri making him look up at her. His expression was pretty unreadable as usual, but I could tell he was tired. Whether it was because of what had happened while he was in Omsk or because too many people were demanding some story he obviously wasn't going to tell, I didn't know. But his eyes were dark and lacked their usual shine, his lips hung slightly and bags had formed under his eyes. Ivan sat next to him with his palm resting on Dimitri's shoulder, his expression just as somber.

"She is alright", Dimitri sighed as Gaya caught a hold of his hand.

"And you?", she questioned as I moved to the side to, as Leo previously asked, give him some space to breathe.

He nodded and rubbed the back of his neck absentmindedly. I didn't know why my eyes followed his hand, watching it slide to the side while he moved the short strands of his hair there. It was the moment I actually noticed that his hair was cut shorter. It was when I also saw the red splotch that contrasted his pale skin, which I had mistaken for the aftermath of the harsh rubbing. That was until his fingers slipped away completely and my eye saw what was hidden underneath. I gasped as realization hit me.

Dimitri Belikov had gotten his first Molnija.

 **POV: Leo**

I was always a heavy sleeper. It was one of the things that allowed Misha to prank the living hell out of me through our childhood. It was the reason I almost never woke up at night unless you were making as much noise as a bull in a china shop right next to me. The only times my sleep could be disrupted with no trouble was when I wasn't actually sleeping in the first place, but dozing off. My alarm would always only be heard by Dimitri who'd then spend fifteen to twenty minutes trying to get me to open my eyes every single morning. So waking up tonight had me disoriented for a little while before I realized that the sounds I thought I heard as a quiet rumble were actually loud enough to get the entire building up on their feet.

I fought to free myself from the covers I was tangled in and wiped my head around to determine what was causing such a disturbance to my tranquil dreams. To my shock it wasn't a what, though the cries sounded inhuman and unarticulated, it was a who. I stood up as quickly as my still sleepy body allowed me to and crossed the room in a few swift strides. With my hands on his shoulders I tugged him up and said: "Dimitri."

He tossed his head to the sides, his entire body shaking as he made the first sound that actually took a form of a word or what most resembled it.

"Dimitri", I tried more forcefully.

"Nah, no!", tumbled from his lips as I pulled him towards me.

"Snap out of it man! DIMITRI!"

His eyelids flew open and he inhaled loudly, the air hissing through his mouth and into his lungs. Even in the darkness I could see how much fear was reflected in his eyes still, the remains of the terror he'd just escaped. He opened his mouth to say something, but he was mute for a few moments before his brain slowly begin functioning properly, enough to allow him to speak.

"Are you okay?", I asked as he latched onto my arms and kept me in place.

For the first time in our lives he looked like a child, a terrified little child and I had no idea what I should do to help him. So I did the first thing that came to mind. I sat down and freed one of my arms out of his grasp, wrapping it around his shoulder. He let me guide him, his forehead falling onto my chest as his loud breaths continued to fill the silence. He kept digging his fingers into my other arm as I patted him on the back and then rubbed the tension out of his muscles carefully.

With his breathing finally under control, he pulled back to look up at me and whisper in a cracked voice: "I'm so sorry I woke you up."

"Hey, don't worry about it", I shot back, using the same tone as Misha when he was trying to calm me after I had nightmares when we were kids, cause that's what this was - a really, really bad nightmare.

His hold loosened and he straightened up, wiping the sheen of sweat that lingered on the back of his neck before his arm froze. I knew what he was doing even though I couldn't see it. He was tracing the pattern of his Molnija, like he had been doing for days now. It was as if he could touch the edges of the tattoo despite the fact that the ink melted into his skin. Only in moments like this, if you paid close attention, you could see how freaked out he actually was. Not that many people did pay attention or care enough to try. Everybody wanted to hear the story of the Novice who killed his first Strigoi. Everybody praised him, congratulated him and admired him. And it was all actually unbearably annoying. People would walk up to him, interrupt him while he was eating, stalk him in the common room or bug him during classes until the professors had to kick them out. If Dimitri wasn't… well, Dimitri, he'd enjoy the attention. But my friend wasn't like that and though he was polite enough not to tell them all to fuck off, he really just wanted to be left alone.

"You should go back to bed", he muttered, but I had no intentions of doing so. He'd been hiding things for long enough and he obviously needed to let this shit out.

"Was this the first one?", I questioned and upon his silence concluded: "This was the first one I heard."

"I've been having those dreams ever since I came back", he admitted, his eyes gluing to some random spot on the wall behind me.

"It was that scary, huh?"

"Scarier", he whispered with a strained voice, "I know I shouldn't say this, but seeing them, right in front of me, it made me wish I'd never chosen to train to be a guardian."

I was stunned by his words so much that I couldn't form a response, which gave him an opportunity to add: "But it also made me want to be a guardian that much more."

"Why?"

"Because now I know, now I truly know what Ivan needs protection from."

I felt a shiver working its way up my spine. If you would have asked me, only a week ago, if I was ready to face Strigoi I would have said _bring them on_. That was because I only knew what I was taught and nothing more. A Strigoi was somewhat like a lion. You could read about it, learn about it, see it on TV, maybe even at the zoo, but if somebody was to drop you in the middle of Africa and tell you to save yourself, you'd probably run from that motherfucker. And even if you didn't run and survived the fight by some miracle, you'd most likely dream about that scary ass encounter for a while. The main difference between a Strigoi and a lion though is that as scary as the animal was, it still wasn't a soulless blood-sucking creature that was almost impossible to kill, so I could only imagine what Dimitri was going through.

Dimitri moved suddenly, throwing the sheets away so that he could stand up. He reached behind his neck and tugged his shirt up, stripping it and tossing it on the ground. I watched him turn around aimlessly for a few moments before he spoke up: "I'm gonna shower. Thanks for, you know."

"Aha", I responded, feeling a bit awkward because of the entire situation. He was the toughest guy I knew. He didn't need my coddling.

He disappeared behind the bathroom door and I fell back. I took a deep breath, the scent of the sheets filling my nostrils and only then did I remember I was still on his bed. I dragged myself up and tumbled back into my pillow face first. I heard the shower turning on and tried to block out all of the sounds around me so that I could go back to sleep. It wasn't until the alarm on my nightstand rang that I realized I spent the rest of the night listening to the sound of Dimitri breathing, worrying about him like I had nothing better to do.

 **POV: Dimitri**

For the first time in my life I needed a break, so a field trip that I'd usually hate to go to was something I welcomed. What also helped my mood was my friend's excitement over it. Ivan was so contagiously giddy that I even found myself smiling as he bounced in the seat next to me. Leo wouldn't stop talking from behind me, his head bobbing up every five seconds in-between Ivan and me. The rest of our group was just as cheerful.

As usual we occupied the best seats on the bus. It was the result of Gaya's threats that she'd break legs if she didn't get the lower floor of the double-decker, the one that had two tables with four seats around each. Misha and Leo "sacrificed" themselves by giving up their seats at the table on the left so Philip could join Sasha and Stacy along with his girlfriend Clarissa, who started hanging out with us every once in a while lately. Opposite of Ivan was Gaya who set up Emilia's laptop on the table between us as soon as the bus was on the move announcing the start of an amazing music tour. Emilia was next to her, leaning against the window like I was, laughing as Gaya informed her that her laptop was about to receive the ultimate gift - Gaya's badass playlist.

We set out early while the sun still lingered just over the horizon. I closed my eyes and faced it, enjoying only the faint light since the tinted windows held back the warmth. Ivan nudged my shoulder to get my attention when he handed me some snacks and as I was turning back to the window again my eyes landed on Emilia. She was staring at the sun boldly, like she was challenging it to try to reach her with a tiny smile sneaking its way across her lips, disrupted only by her teeth latching on to the corner of the pinkish flesh. Her eyes resembled crystals, the gentle purple becoming a radiant violet against the light, their shine so strong they looked like perfect icy surfaces. Her dark hair twirled into lazy curls around her pale face, the strands at the front dancing gingerly as the heating blew air into them. She was toying with the tiny white pearls that were sewed onto her scarf, her thin, elegant fingers rubbing over their smooth surfaces. Her nails were coated in a deep red color that reflected the shine of the laptop screen as she slowly drummed the fingers of her other hand on the table.

I knew I was staring, but somehow I found myself unable to look away. When she arrived at our school I noticed she was beautiful. I mean, you'd pretty much have to be blind to miss that. I knew it was one of the reasons why every guy in our class got interested in her straight away. And though I had plenty of time to get used to the sight of her, this was the first time I really looked, really focused on the details. She was gorgeous, there were no questions about it, but she was also somehow... surreal. It was not just the way she looked, but the way she made you feel when you were looking at her. I'd miss the sun less if she was around more.

She moved suddenly, her eyes shifting to me. She blinked at first, either from the change of the light exposure or confusion and then she smiled. Somebody else would have been freaked out by catching the person across from them in an act of shameless gawking, but she seemed to be completely relaxed and unconcerned.

For a moment we just gazed at one another, neither of us moving or talking before Ivan leaned across the table and asked: "You want to play?"

"Play what?", Emma shot back.

"Two truths and a lie", Ivan informed her and after she nodded turned to me prompting, "Dimka?"

"Why not, who's going to start?"

"It's always the one who asks", Gaya declared and then proceeded to explain to Emma our modification of the game. Only one person would get to guess and it was always the one sitting opposite of you, then they'd proceed with their sentences and so on. That way we avoided creating too much noise while we played. Emilia was supposed to guess my lie, so I took a moment to ponder on what I should chose since she already knew some details about me through our twenty questions game from the party.

"I have a collection of leather bound books at home, I hate olives and I excel in karate."

"Ummm, you hate olives", she drawled and Ivan snickered beside me.

"I know a lot of martial arts, but karate sadly isn't one of them", I chuckled as Emilia's face dropped in disappointment for picking the wrong one.

"I thought you knew everything", she commented, pursing her lips thoughtfully.

"You are the know-it-all."

"I thought I was Miss Pretentious", she shot back as everyone followed our banter.

She must have noticed the curious looks our friends were giving us, so she quickly focused on her facts and added: "I can speak three languages, I've never been ice skating and I can hold my breath for over two minutes."

"I'd love to see you try", Ivan boasted while tapping on his watch.

Emma in response took a large gulp of air and then halted her breathing, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Oh damn, I knew I should have picked the three languages thing."

"You think?", she giggled after she stopped holding her breath, "En fait non. Я не знаю их всех до совершенства, ma posso parlare molto bene tutti e quattro."

"WHATTT?", Gaya exclaimed looking at Emma with astonishment.

"The hell was that?", Leo asked as he stood up and leaned next to Ivan in order to join the game.

"That was a weirdo who speaks FOUR fucking languages but has never went ice skating", Gaya laughed as she playfully nudged Emma's shoulder.

"When did you learn that many languages?", Ivan questioned, still stunned by the revelation.

"I was home schooled so I had plenty of time and nothing better to do. What helped is that I actually enjoy learning them", she elaborated before she gestured towards him to remind him it was his turn.

The game went back and forth all the way up to Irkutsk. Naturally, Emma was the person who held the biggest element of surprise, but Clarissa and Philip weren't far behind. We all laughed a lot, especially with Gaya's and Ivan's ridiculous lies that any person on the planet would have been able to single out. In the midst of all of it I'd completely forgotten about my worries and the events that happened in Omsk. I was thankful for it, truly thankful.

I was still grinning when I got off the bus, so when I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to look behind me, I flashed that grin right at Galina. I hadn't seen her at all since we came back to the Academy, especially since she canceled our private sessions this week. She wasn't teaching any of my regular classes either and I was beginning to wonder what the reason behind her sudden absence was.

"Having fun?", she asked with an encouraging smile.

"I, um-."

"I'm glad you are. Means that the lesson I gave you about things outside of training sunk in. I'm sorry I haven't been around lately, I had some... work things to deal with."

"Are you alright? What's going on?"

"Don't you worry about me", she chuckled, patting my shoulder as her eyes found their way to my mark, "I'm sorry you had to go through that, especially this early."

"It didn't hurt", I replied instinctively, making her look back up at me.

A saddened expression spread over her face when she whispered: "I didn't mean the process of tattooing."

I heard Ivan calling my name from up ahead and Galina quickly stepped back, nodding to me as she attempted to smile again while adding: "Go. Be with your friends. I'll see you for our training next week."

I waved her goodbye and ran to catch up to my group. We had a couple of hours to kill, mostly while the shops were still working and the city was crowded enough. We were forbidden to leave the circle around the mall where we were dropped off for safety reasons. There were little chances of us getting attacked, but then again I had the same chances in Omsk and it still happened, so I knew our teachers weren't taking any risks.

Our group split up since the girls wanted to go shopping for clothes and Ivan and Leo wanted to check out the games store. I tagged along, chatting with Misha before he took off to join Grisha and a couple of other seniors. I ran into Sonya and Karo along the way, but they quickly hurried after their friends that giggled and squealed, almost fainting when they saw "the shoes that were just waiting for them" in one of the shops windows.

Vika was excluded from this trip since it was decided that the younger students would go some other time. We were already attracting too much attention as it is. She was miserable about it so I decided to go and get her some kind of a gift to lift her spirits. I told Ivan I'd meet them outside later before I went to look for the little jewelry stand I saw near the entrance. It had some unique, handmade bracelets and necklaces that caught my eye and I knew Vika would love each and every one.

I was circling the stand, scanning the shelves attached to the side, when I saw a flicker of black locks moving on the other side. I looked up, my eyes landing on Emma who seemed like she hadn't noticed me yet. I rounded the stand slowly, stopping when I was almost right behind her. It was impossible for her to miss me now, but she for some reason didn't acknowledge my presence. _Was she ignoring me?_ , I thought before she surprised me by speaking up.

"It's rude to invade one's personal space."

She was still browsing through the jewelry, refusing to turn towards me, so I leaned in even more until I was almost brushing her shoulder.

"It's rude to disregard one's friends", I shot back, watching her lips tug into a small smile.

"Can I help you kids with something?", the salesman cut in, leaning over the stand.

I glanced at him and cleared my throat replaying: "We are just looking, thank you."

"There is an excellent piece here, brand new", he prompted persistently before he pointed towards Emma, "It'd look good on your girlfriend."

I couldn't see my reflection anywhere in that moment, but I was fairly certain I looked ridiculous. I opened and closed my mouth like a fish and wiggled uncomfortable, feeling the heath build up in my cheeks.

"I'm not his girlfriend", Emma calmly responded, "But he is buying a gift for-."

Her voice trailed off as she looked at me for further information so I stammered: "M-my sister."

"Ah, my mistake", the salesman apologetically smiled at me, "I'll leave you to it then."

When I didn't move and produce any other words, Emma prompted: "You want me to help you pick it out?"

The only thing I was capable of doing was nodding. She asked me a few questions about Vika's tastes and suggested a few options while I basically screamed at myself to pull it together. What the hell was a matter with me? It was just an honest mistake made by the man. It didn't mean anything.

"Do you like that?", Emma asked while I blinked up at her and frowned.

She picked up a necklace that I was staring at just moments ago without even paying attention to it really. It had a strong silver chain made out of small links and a bold, thick, circular silver locket with a compass carved out at the front and a familiar figure etched on the back - a woman dressed in something that looked like a toga, holding crops of wheat. I could have sworn I'd seen her before somewhere.

"Demeter", Emma mumbled as she ran her thumb over the figure.

"Goddess of harvest and fertility", I added, remembering that it was my grandmother who showed me a drawing of her in one of those old mythology books she horded. I couldn't recall exactly what got her to be so persistent about teaching me who this goddess was, especially since she wasn't a figure connected to my culture or religious beliefs. I think it had something to do with my name, but I guess I was too young to find such knowledge interesting or important.

"Yes it's what she is most known for, but it's not the only thing. There is this one that I find more interesting actually-", Emma started, but her words ceased when a stifled chuckle escaped me, "You are about to mock me, aren't you?"

"No, no, I'm just constantly fascinated by the amount of facts that you know", I exclaimed and upon seeing the pout that was forming on her face prompted, "What do you find more interesting?"

"It doesn't matter", she mumbled, attempting to put the necklace back.

"Tell me", I pleaded, catching her hand before she could finish what she was doing and pulling it and the necklace towards me.

She looked up, visibly pondering on whether she should continue before she sighed and finished: "She is the goddess of the cycle of life and death, among other things."

"I didn't know that", I admitted, prying Emma's hand open so I could look at the locket again, "Now I like it even more."

Our eyes locked and she smiled a tiny little victorious smile. I smiled back, feeling this strange warmth that she had a way of awaking in me. We stood still for a few long moments as if we were caught in some kind of a spell. I felt Emma's fingers trembling ever so slightly in mine and the chain dancing between our locked hands.

"That one is unisex", the salesman butted in, reappearing out of nowhere, "Sterling silver."

The spell broke and we pulled apart, blushing simultaneously. Only this time I was the one to recover quickly and respond with: "That's alright. I'll take that one with the flower pendant."

It turned out I went for one of Emilia's suggestions after all. She waited patiently for me to finish paying and once I was done asked: "So where are you off to next?"

"I'm going to head outside. Maybe go for a walk or something. You?"

"I was going to do the same. I just wanted to get something here too and grab some hot chocolate."

"You want to merge plans?", I suggested as I stuffed the little bag with Vika's gift into my pocket.

"Sure."

"How about I go get the hot chocolate while you finish up here?"

"Sounds like a plan", she agreed, handing me what I figured was money for the chocolate.

"Are you serious?", I chuckled, walking backwards as she called after me with a frown while waving with the money.

"I'll wait for you in front of the entrance", I shouted before I turned and walked the rest of the way normally.

There were only a few people hanging out outside, which didn't surprise me since it was rather cold. We walked almost an entire circle around the mall, chatting and sipping on the hot chocolate before we got joined by the rest of our friends. They already had our next activity planned, but they wouldn't tell either of us what it was until they dragged us to the ice rink set up near the mall.

"We are correcting some wrongs today", Gaya announced as she nudged Emma towards the rink, "I'll go get you a pair of skates."

"But, I-", she tried protesting before Ivan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a wink.

"We got you Grasshopper."

She seemed terrified, but she went along with the plan probably because she didn't want to be the only one left behind. I loved skating, ever since I was a child and I was pretty good at it too, so it didn't take me long to get into the mood. Leo caught up to me and raced me for a few circles, his laughter echoing through the night. The rink was almost empty since it was getting pretty late and the mall was about to close in half an hour, so we had plenty of room to joke around. At some point Gaya slid past me and turned sharply so she'd face us, sticking her tongue out to challenge us to go after her. Leo took the bait, but I slowed and skated to the fence, leaning against it and turning around to look for Ivan. I saw him next to Emilia, trying and failing to get her to let go of the fence she'd latched onto. Her expression was comical.

I pushed off and made my way towards them, coming to an elegant stop just as Emma stammered: "Y-you go, I'll catch up."

I was the one who taught Ivan how to skate so I knew the limit of his expertise. He'd hardly be able to help Emma and keep his balance at the same time, though it seemed like he really wanted to try, especially since he promised he was going to have her back. I wasn't a pro myself, but between the two of us we could make it work so I slid behind her and pried her fingers away from the fence despite her protest before I told Ivan: "Take her hand."

He did as he was told while I placed my hands on her waist and pushed her forward gently. Ivan figured out my plan without any further explanation and went along, slowly tugging Emma after him as I stirred her forward.

"Your legs are too rigid, try to relax", I instructed as we moved.

"You relax", she mumbled in annoyance.

I chuckled and added: "And don't step on the ice, slid over it. You don't have to lift your feet so much."

"That's easy for you to say. I bet you started skating before you could walk you bloody Russian", she argued, making both Ivan and I burst into laughter.

After a full circle around the rink, when I was certain she didn't need my assistance anymore, I backed away. She didn't even notice my hands leaving her waist, so I wasn't surprised that she panicked once I skated ahead and waved at her. Ivan held her hand tight though, making sure she'd keep going.

"Ivan", she warned in fear once he too began letting go, but he just smiled at her and said: "You got this."

And she did. She was a bit wobbly, but she didn't fall. She grinned at the both of us, proud of her achievement and we grinned back. Ivan neared me and whispered: "She is adorable. Can we keep her?"

His question was kind of funny and off, but I knew exactly what he mean by it which is why I simply replied: "As far as I'm concerned... yes."

* * *

 **Chapter song: Wind Of Change - Scorpions**

 **Mmm, that took a while *blushes hard*! I know it's no excuse, but I actually had to study a lot and my dearest beta had to work a lot so neither of us really had a lot of time to dive into this chapter! But it's here now! I hope it was worth the wait!**

 **Emilia's line from the game was a mix of English (obviously, right?) French (En fait non = Actually no), Russian (Я не знаю их всех до совершенства = I don't know all of them to perfection) and Italian (ma posso parlare molto bene tutti e guattro = but I speak all four very well). Judging by the fact that I'm learning two out of four (English and Italian) please forgive the poor translation.**

 **Thanks for reading! Feel free to review cause I don't bite! See you all the next time!**

 **Kisses, T!**


	12. CH12 - Lullaby

**POV: Dimitri**

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"What the actual...?", I mumbled, jumping up in my bed and tumbling down on the floor in a mess of sheets and limbs, "Fuck!"

I blinked up at the smiling faces of Ivan and Gaya while I felt hands slipping under my arms and helping me up. My helper turned out to be my roommate who, through a string of chuckles, exclaimed: "I told you waking him up like this would be a bad idea."

"Well at least he didn't try to kill us", Ivan laughed.

"But it's his special day", Gaya beamed while I stabilized on my feet and rubbed my head on the spot where it collided with the floor.

"So you decided to give me a heart attack as a gift?", I mumbled frowning at them as Ivan strolled towards the window and opened it.

"OMG, gifts! Wait till you see them", Gaya continued excitedly, ignoring my moodiness.

"Control yourself woman", Ivan warned, coming to stand beside her as I turned to Leo and muttered, "Excuse me, I have to go attempt to drown myself in the toilet tank."

"Take your time buddy", he laughed, patting me on the back as Gaya started bubbling about how perfect they were going to make this day for me. It was the first time I'd seen her acting so girlish and giddy. She was indeed easily excitable most of the time, but she was never this cheery.

I barely had any time to dress before the trio dragged me out of my room and towards the cafeteria. Gaya and Leo ran up ahead to "get everything ready" so Ivan and I stole a quick moment alone. I glanced at him and he smiled, but there was a dose of nervousness in his features that I couldn't quite explain. I shouldered him playfully and raised my eyebrow in a silent question.

"It's nothing", he instinctively responded, but when my eyebrow threatened to disappear into my hairline he corrected his statement by saying, "It's about Savannah."

"What about her?", I asked, getting alerted straight away.

He must have noticed my sudden seriousness since he forced his smile to widen while reassuring me: "It's not a bad thing, it's just that-."

His voice trailed off and he glanced up ahead at our friends like he was expecting them to be eavesdropping, but they seemed to be too busy bickering over God knows what to pay attention to us. However, he didn't continue even after making sure our conversation was private so I prompted: "Hey man, you know who I am. Talk to me."

He was hesitant, but he eventually caved in and blurted: "I'm sleeping over in her room tonight."

"Okay", I confirmed without giving his words much thought.

"Dimitri, I'm sleeping over, but there won't be actual sleeping involved", he stressed to which I slowed down my steps so much that I was almost standing still.

"We are talking about sex?"

"We are talking about sex", he confirmed, his smile now cracking into an odd quiver.

"Huh."

"Huh? Really? HUH! That's all you have to say?"

"What else should I say Ivan? You know damn well I have as much experience on the matter as you do", I protested as a small rush of heath ran up my neck.

"A, keep your voice down and B, just because you and I know that, that doesn't mean others do. Savannah most definitely and above all people should not, does not and will not know I'm a virgin."

"Why would she even care?", I asked, though I knew my question was as stupid as they come. Ivan knew it too so he didn't even bother to answer me. Instead he wondered: "What if I blow it?"

"You won't blow it", I reassured him while trying not to crack up at the pun he was too busy worrying to notice, "I'm pretty sure it's not rocket science. You figured everything else out, you'll figure this out too."

"But she is not, you know, so she'll be able to tell if I'm trying to get a hang of it while we are at it", he mumbled as a group of students passed by us.

"Ivan you are overthinking it. Stop! You are creating a problem where it doesn't exist. Remember Judy?"

"Sweet Jesus", he shouted, causing Gaya to glance back at us, but luckily not to peek her interest enough to join our conversation, "Of course I remember her. And I'm sure she remembers me, I mean everything that happened that night... mmm."

"See, that's the spirit. You were confident then and you had no idea what you were doing, so be confident now too", I concluded, satisfied by my advice giving skills.

"Right. I can do this!"

"Of course you can", I added, patting him on the back just before we entered the cafeteria.

"SURPRISE", another string of shouts got me to almost jump out of my skin, but I smiled instantly as I saw my friends and my sisters huddled up around a table that had an enormous cake with chocolate icing on it.

After plenty of hugs and audible kisses on my cheeks, accompanied by a few people wiping their chocolate coated fingers all over my face after dipping them in the cake, I managed to catch a breath and push out: "You guys seriously didn't have to go through this much trouble."

"Trouble?", Gaya voiced playfully, scanning the space above our heads, "Did somebody just call my middle name?"

"No, but I might call your first name if you don't behave yourself", I whispered into her ear.

"You'd be dead before you get your first slice of this baking miracle", she threatened with a mischievous smile.

"The baking miracle you made, I presume."

"Who else? No one can work miracles like the cake Goddess."

It took a while for everyone to find their place around the table, but luckily we had plenty of chairs available since it was Sunday and most of the students kept to their rooms or the yard. I barely managed to catch a breath before Gaya ordered everyone to start giving me gifts, being as bossy as always. My sisters got me a set of some long desired books and they went above and beyond to pack them up as neatly and as prettily as they could. I bitched about the money they'd spent, but I couldn't stop smiling and hugging them in turn. Gaya, in her usual fashion, was the most creative one, completing her delicious cake with another gift - a CD that had "music to listen to while I'm beating your ass in practice" written on top of it.

"I should make you one of these?", I chuckled as I flipped the CD in my hand.

"I don't need it D. Yep, I'm that good", she teased, winking at me.

"We'll see about that."

"Game on", she confirmed before Leo nudged her to move.

"Brothers Andreyev coming through", Misha shouted behind him, his signature grin splashed on his face.

The package Leo handed me was uneven and awkwardly wrapped, making it pretty damn obvious it was packed by two of the clumsiest guys on the planet. I ripped it open and my eyes instantly shot up to their grinning faces.

"You-."

"Before you start with the whole _you shouldn't have spent this much money_ bla, bla, bla", Misha interrupted quickly, "We got it for a very reasonable price, actually, and Stacy and Sasha participated."

"Sure did", Stacy butted in proudly, "Not the packing though. That was all these two."

"Obviously", I mumbled into my chin as I ran my hand over the slick leather surface of a holster. My very first one and it looked so ostentatious.

"Let the rest of us finish before he has a chance to get all gooey and emotional", Philip added, making everyone crack up.

When there was only one person left and he proudly stepped forward with his hand behind his back, Gaya made the announcement: "And now for the grand finale."

I quirked my eyebrow at Ivan and he cracked a wide smile as Gaya added: "What? He is your most loaded friend, what did you expect?"

Like on cue, he extended his hidden hand and offered up a rectangular, white envelope that only peeked my interest further. I took it from him gingerly, noticing the excitement written over the faces around me. They obviously all knew what it was and I wanted to join the club. I ripped the top open and found what turned out to be a plane ticket, but I knew straight away it was some much more than that.

"Ivan, are you insane?", I breathed out in complete shock.

"No, but I am, as Gaya stated, pretty loaded. Look, it's not a big deal. I got it a while back so it was cheaper."

"Cheaper?", I exclaimed, fixing my best friend with a deathly serious expression, "And how cheap will the rest of freaking Italy be?"

"Pretty cheap actually", he reassured me with a smile that was too easy considering the situation, "One of my cousins happens to have a house there and he's more than graciously decided to welcome us to it. And before you can even think of weaselling your way out of this, my parents already made the arrangements so it's a done deal AND I talked to Olena who gave me the green light, so buckle up and enjoy the ride."

"We'll miss you terribly for Christmas", Sonya butted in with a mischievous smile, "But we'll also more than gladly eat your part of the food for the feast."

There was obviously no point in arguing, so I stood up and gave Ivan a bone crunching hug instead. He chuckled into my shoulder and hugged me back with as much strength as he possessed as I whispered to him: "I've never been anywhere outside of Russia."

"I know pal", he mumbled into my shirt, "And it's about bloody time we change that."

We occupied the cafeteria for quite some time, talking and laughing while stuffing our faces with as much of the wonderful cake Gaya had made as we could. I scolded Ivan for a while, just to keep him on his toes really, but I was beyond grateful for his ridiculously generous gift. The only problem was that despite all the cheerfulness and the kindness of my friends and the fact that I was in a really good mood which was not something that happened often, I constantly felt this odd itch at the back of my head. Like something was off. Like something was missing. Or someone.

"Where is Emma?", I asked Gaya since she sat the closest to me and since she usually had all the important information one could desire.

"Why do you ask?", Gaya prompted wiggling her eyebrows and grinning, "You wanted to get a big fat kiss from her?"

Luckily, before I could regret asking, Stacy butted in and said: "She went to the infirmary this morning."

"Why?", I wondered as Gaya's smile dropped, notifying me that she too hadn't heard of this yet.

"I don't know", Stacy shrugged, "She looked fine to me, but maybe she has some medical problems that I don't know about, not that I know _that_ much about her."

"Hmh", I hummed as I glanced at my watch. It had been long since morning and I had no idea whether I should be alerted by Emma's absences. Not that I'd admit it to anyone, but I had actually begun to care about her in a way and enjoy her company. We were far from what one might call besties, but I did consider her a friend, a good friend. Working on our project for Moroi Culture I had more opportunities to get to know her and I liked what I'd seen so far. She indeed never mentioned a problem with her health and I'd never noticed any signs, but Stacy was right, we were all far from knowing everything about her.

"Well, I hope she's okay", Ivan joined in and I nodded in agreement.

 **POV: Emilia**

"Dad, I'm okay, really", I repeated into the phone for the millionth time between the frantic ramblings coming from the other end of the line.

More worried shouts followed as I transferred my weight from one foot to another and leaned against the telephone booth in the back hall of the infirmary. My forehead kissed the cold tiled wall and I sighed softly hoping my father wouldn't notice it. I should have just stayed in my room and had a panic attack in private like any other person, but I just had to be dumb enough to come here and think that it would actually help, that someone could help me. In my defence I was running low on mood stabilizers and I needed a refill, but I could have just waited for my usual shrink to ship them over from America.

"Dad-, father-, Thomas", I exclaimed trying to stop him from continuing on his roll, "I'm not mom."

That shut him up pretty damn fast, enough to have us both hanging onto our phones in a wordless marathon of listening to each other's exasperated breaths over the line. Finally, he got enough energy to push out a few lines and I responded with: "I love you too."

When the conversation was done, I placed the phone back and ran my hands through my hair, suiting it down even though it was as perfect as it'd get. It was a nervous habit, like biting my lips or drumming my fingers on something. I nodded to the empty hallway like I was reassuring the world I truly was fine before I made my way back to the doctor's office.

"Ah, Lady Lazar, did everything go well with your father?", the doctor asked as I quietly stepped back inside.

"Yes. It was all fine", I pushed out, taking my former seat on the other side of his desk.

"That's good to hear. Now, you've mentioned you had a therapist back home. Is there any way I can contact him?"

"Her", I corrected, keeping my eyes fixed on my medical records that were opened upon my arrival to the school. I had a feeling the file before him was going to get thick pretty damn fast.

"I think there is a number somewhere in there", I added pointing towards the pages.

"Excellent", he said stopping his scribbling for a moment to look at me, "I think it'd be wise if you were to seek out some therapy here as well. Our psychiatrist-."

"That won't be necessary", I cut in, trying to uphold a polite expression, "I'm satisfied with my current doctor and I do not wish to change her. This was just... an incident and I'm sure it won't happen again."

"Lady Lazar", he started, his tone resembling one someone would have when trying to talk to a five-year-old, "You are not an adult and-."

"And yet my father gave me the right to decide what's best for me. Feel free to call him, but I can assure you, he'll agree to whatever I say and I say I'm not in a need of a new psychiatrist. As a matter of fact, my father has already invited Doctor Harris to stay in our house in Russia so that I could have sessions whenever I'm in need of them."

I felt a bit breathless when I finished my short speech, but I was determined to show as much confidence as I could. I didn't want someone new poking around my head. It took Linda years to get me to fully open up and she'd been my therapist ever since I was a kid. Being motherless, having a limited amount of people that I now didn't even dare to call my friends after I had seen what friendship actually was and being undeclared was hard enough to earn me lifelong sessions.

"Very well", the doctor agreed, but not without obvious disappointment, "I'll still have to get in touch with Doctor Harris and your father."

"Of course. May I go?"

He sighed and gestured towards the door in dismissal. I barely managed to stop myself from jumping and immediately racing out. Instead, I politely said goodbye and walked out as gracefully as I could like a good little girl. Once I was separated from him by the door of his office the facade dropped and my shoulders fell in exhaustion. I unsteadily made my way towards the exit before I bumped into another doctor on my way out. He was way younger than Mister Douchebag and wore a way more honest and caring expression. He was the one that checked me in when I came and I was actually pleased to see him.

"Feeling better, Lady Lazar?", he asked as he battled with a box he was carrying.

"Much, thank you Doctor-?"

"Ozera", he supplied with a warm smile, shrugging to underline that he could not extend his hand to me.

I was guessing it was my dumbfounded expression that made him laugh and he was quick to add: "I know, I know. It seems impossible that Royals could have such a mundane job, but here I am."

"Here you are", I repeated still a bit dazed. It truly wasn't often that you could find Royals who chose anything other than politics, business, law or procrastination as their life path. Being a Doctor was respectable and having other types of employments wasn't exactly unheard of. Plenty of Royal women chose careers as designers or event planners, but it was still a surprise.

"You know", he said, finally placing the box down on the chairs that served as an improvised waiting room, "I declared my element when I was eighteen."

That certainly got my attention. I looked up into his way too bold of a blue eyes and he offered me a reassuring pat on my shoulder, a slightly unprofessional gesture, but just the one I needed at the moment.

"I know that's an issue for you and probably the reason behind your anxiety, not that I would know for certain since I'm only a resident."

"No, um, you are right, I think", I mumbled, blushing slightly as he smiled. He was actually really cute and... _no, don't go there Emilia_.

"Well if I am then please take it from someone who's been in your shoes: it's not the end of the world if you declare late", he concluded confidently, "There is nothing wrong with you."

I thought there were plenty of things wrong with me, but he was so kind and actually seemed generally concerned so I nodded and thanked him. He made me promise I'd stop by if I needed anything and then he was off, leaving me to watch his handsome back disappearing down the hallway along with the box he had picked back up.

 **POV: Dimitri**

"You are going to buy me a souvenir, right?", Leo asked as we laid on our beds, staring up at the ceiling and talking.

"Leo, I haven't even left yet and we still have more than two weeks until winter break", I chuckled glancing over at him as he punched his pillow to make it more comfortable, "But of course I will."

"You are going to have a great time", he responded dreamily before he frowned and added, "Unlike me, who's going to be stuck with that nuisance of a brother and my parents."

"I thought you liked going up to the cabin."

The Andreyevs had a small house up at the Altai Mountains. It'd been in their family for generations and from what I gathered it was a wonderful place. Misha and Leo would often go there during breaks or just before we were supposed to go back to school since it was closer to St Basil's than their home in St Petersburg.

"Sure, but I'd much rather go with my friends or, I don't know, someone else."

"Someone else?", I questioned through a smirk, "Is there a girlfriend I don't know about."

He jumped up, turning towards me in panic as he babbled: "No, not, I don't, I-."

"Relax Leo. I was just messing with you", I cut in, feeling sorry for making him so jumpy. _Why was he so jumpy, anyway? It was an innocent question._

I never got a chance to find out why Leo had such a strong reaction to casual teasing because our conversation got interrupted by a knock on the door. It was pretty late, almost past curfew so I wondered who it could be. Leo was still blinking at me, his mouth opening and closing like he was a fish so I took the initiative of greeting our unexpected guest. It turned out to be tonight's guard for our dorm. He wasn't a guardian, but a Novice just like us, a senior though. Everyone loved it when seniors were put on duty since most of them were willing to turn a blind eye to students sneaking out of their rooms from time to time when they were already supposed to be in bed and asleep.

"Belikov", he greeted casually, "There's a young lady waiting for you downstairs."

"What?"

"A girl asked to see you", he elaborated, eyeing my in a way that made me feel like he thought he was talking to a rather dumb person, "Don't stay out too long, no matter how generous she gets for your birthday."

With that he turned on his heel and strolled away, whistling loudly the way he always did when he was letting someone know he heard and saw nothing. I picked up my coat and shot to Leo "be right back" before I raced outside, wondering who was waiting. At first I thought that whoever it was decided this was a bad idea and left, since there wasn't a living soul in sight when I stepped out. That was before someone's head popped up from behind the corner of the building and they coughed softly to catch my attention. I walked up to them trying to catch any glimpse of familiarity in the shadow they were hidden in. It wasn't until I stood right in front of her that I'd realized who my secret guest was.

"Sorry I missed the celebration", Emma spoke up as she pushed her hoodie off her head and smiled up at me.

"Don't worry about it", I instantly shot back, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?", she asked with an odd glint flashing in her eyes.

I knew better than to mention my knowledge of her whereabouts from this morning so instead I prompted: "Well, I haven't seen you all day and you've been annoyingly present lately."

She laughed at my sassy remark and the glint disappeared. _Was she worried_ _that I'd found out what happened? Did that mean she was hiding something big? Was it serious enough to endanger her?_

"I got you something", she spoke up, cutting my pondering short.

"Me?", I asked dumbfounded as she pulled a small paper bag out of her pocket.

"Unless you know someone else whose birthday is today", she chuckled, handing me the bag.

The content was heavy so it slipped out pretty fast when I turned it over and shook it. It took me a few moments to realize what I was holding. The strong silver chain and the compass on the front of the locket should have tipped me off straight away, but it wasn't until I saw the figure, that I now knew as Demeter, that I became aware that I was holding the same necklace Emma and I saw at the mall about a month ago.

"I know it's a little unusual, but I had a feeling that you really liked it so... you know", she blurted out, a barely visible blush running across her cheeks.

"I did. I do", I spoke up, still staring at the silver glistening under the faint light coming from the entrance of the dorm, "Thank you."

"You're welcome", she responded as I looked up at her and smiled. And there it was again, that strange warmth spreading through my body despite the coldness of the night.

We were silent for a few moments and then she blinked and cleared her throat before announcing: "I should probably get back to my dorm."

"I'll walk you", I offered without a second thought.

"Oh, no that's okay. I don't want to get you into trouble."

"You won't", I reassured her before I gestured towards the general direction of her dorm, "Shall we?"

"Okay then", she shyly mumbled turning to leave.

I slipped the locket around my neck and tucked it carefully under my coat and shirt before stuffing the bag it came from into my pocket and following her. The yard was as empty as one would expect this late in the evening, but we took the shortest road just to be safe. We would both be in real trouble if we got caught by our teachers since the curfew had already started.

We were silent for a while, both lost in our thoughts before I struck up a conversation right around the time when we reached the indoor garden, the place where we'd first had our first one-on-one encounter.

"So, any plans for the winter break?"

"I don't know yet. I might travel somewhere, but it all depends on my dad's schedule. You?"

"Ivan and I will-."

The moment I heard voices that didn't belong to us, I instinctively grabbed Emma's hand and pushed her into the shadows. I nudged her against the glass wall and clapped a hand over her mouth to stop her surprise from coming out in any form of a noise. I pressed up against her, letting my eyes quickly dart to the side to wordlessly point out the reason for my actions. She understood, nodding quickly before tapping her fingers on the back of my hand. I let it slip from her lips, feeling a rush of warmth on my chest as she breathed out. There was no personal space left between us which officially made this the most intimate contact we'd ever had. Just thinking about it made me uncomfortable, but what made things worse was the fact that I suddenly became very aware of every single spot where our bodies touched. There were a lot of spots.

"I'm simply saying I'm worried about the girl", one of the voices said as Emma and I held our breaths.

"I'm sure that it'll all get sorted out", another voice supplied, the one I recognized as Dr. Ozera, "She is just a normal kid going through a bit of a crisis."

He was a pretty memorable guy, especially since he took it upon himself to treat all of my injuries after training ever since he came to his residency here. He could have let the nurses or the PA do it, but for some reason he took a lot of interest in me. He was a very pleasant person and I thought he was great at his job.

"A bit of a crisis?", the other man exclaimed and I suddenly realised he was probably the older doctor that everyone hated enough not to remember his name, calling him Master Torturer instead. He was supposed to leave the school once Dr. Ozera was done with his residency since we currently had three doctors, which was more than schools usually required. However, I didn't think the old man wanted to leave unless he was carried away in a coffin.

"She had a breakdown and her issues obviously run very deep."

I felt Emma stiffen next to me, so I glanced down at her and saw a pained expression on her face. At first I thought that I had stepped on her foot or that I was squeezing her too hard, but then I realized she was listening to the conversation as well as she waited for them to move past us and it bothered her. _Because it was her they were talking about._

"With all due respect Dr. Gorev, but I believe you might be exaggerating. She was just upset she couldn't perform magic and she is after all a teenage girl. You might recall they are prone to strong reactions under the influence of hormones."

"Regular teenage girls don't have to take medication to control such reactions", Gorev snapped back and that was probably the final drop for Emma.

She tried wiggling her way out of the corner I'd pushed her in, but I stopped her and shook my head, mouthing a wordless plea for her not to get us into a mess. Her violet eyes sparked with anger and, for a moment, I though she wouldn't listen, but then she slumped back against the glass and sighed in dejection.

"Well as you stated, her psychiatrist did confirm that she considers Lady Lazar is stable enough not to require any additional treatments. The change in her environment was stressful and that's probably what set her off, but she got her refill and-."

Their voices slowly faded and as soon as that happened Emma pushed against me to give herself some space. Following the conversation I had stopped paying attention to our closeness, but now I felt embarrassed once more. She marched away from me so I basically had to run to catch up. She wouldn't look at me or talk to me until we were almost in front of her dorm. I was just about ready to speak up when the glass doors of the entrance appeared in front of us, but before I could she twirled around and made the first move.

"I'm not a nutjob", she exclaimed angrily, "And if you tell anyone-."

"I won't", I cut in quickly, raising my palms to calm her, "And I don't think you are a nutjob."

"You were never supposed to know", she mumbled more to herself than me.

I took a chance, a big chance judging by the awkwardness of the situation and her anger when I stepped towards her and cupped her cheek. The gesture was so unexpected for the both of us that her eyes shot up to mine in a flash and she went completely still. I carefully phrased my next sentence fearing I'd upset her even more: "Whether I was supposed to know or not is irrelevant now. I know and maybe, just maybe, that's a good thing."

"How is that a good thing?", she whispered, her anger depleting only to be replaced by anxiousness.

"Because I'm a good listener and I'm sure it'll help you to take some of that weight off. You don't have to talk to me, but if you want to, I'm here for you."

"Why?"

"Cause I might be able to understand where you are coming from", I prompted, remembering a similar moment I'd shared with Ivan. He too was desperate to control his powers and it crushed him whenever it didn't happen. What bothered him the most was that so many of his peers began getting a hang of it when they reached the age of ten, some of them even earlier. There was still plenty of them that fully developed their powers or mostly developed them when they hit puberty or during the last schoolyear and there were also those who were still having even more trouble than him. Still, it was something that could cause a real mess in one's mind and make them think that they were less than others, which I was certain they weren't.

"How could you? You are basically perfect", Emma contradicted, her eyes dropping as they filled with tears.

"I can assure you I'm the furthest thing from perfect", I stressed, giving her a little shake like that might make my words better heard.

"Yeah right", she muttered, but I was having none of that.

"Emma, listen, I know this is hard and it seems like it will never get better, but it will. It always does. Look I was terrible at personal combat and got my ass handed to me for years in a row."

"I find that hard to believe", she chuckled and I felt a spark of excitement upon seeing that I'd made her smile even if it was just for a moment. It was odd to have your mood suddenly so depended on the reactions of another person. It was not something I was used to consciously experiencing.

"It's true", I continued, mimicking her smile, "And now I'm one of the best Novices in my year. This is the first year Ivan's managed to control a single element and he too was miserable over it before for no damn reason apparently. So every problem that he and I thought was impossible to solve worked out in the end. I'm sure yours will too."

"That's a very positive view", she commented through a frown.

"It's not about the view, it's about faith."

"Last I checked, we have slightly different backgrounds when it comes to that", she humourlessly laughed.

"Not faith as religion. Faith in something, in this case scenario, faith in you."

She gave me the most shocked looked so far so I decided to underline my words, just to make sure they'd sink in: "I have faith in you. You are stronger than anyone gives you credit for, yourself included. You'll figure it out."

"Thank you", she said before she prompted herself on her toes and placed a soft kiss on my cheek, "Thank you Dimitri."

It was my turn to be shocked by her gesture, but I pulled it together as quickly as possible. We parted and simultaneously sighed like we were both spent. And we were, emotionally at least. It was an expectedly serious conversation that left my mind brewing. I wanted to make sure she trusted me, I wanted her trust. I didn't know why, I just knew I did.

"Your secret is safe with me. I won't tell a living soul about what I'd heard, but please, if you ever-."

"I'll talk to you", she cut in, agreeing to let me in, or at least I hoped she did.

"Good."

"You should get going before somebody else surprises us", she pointed out, but I could tell she no longer had the same urge to get away from me. She was just being rational about things.

"Yes. Um, good night."

"Good night", she responded before she squeezed my shoulder in one last gesture of friendliness and added, "Sweet dreams."

I watched her go, making sure she was safe within her building before I made my way back to my room. I missed her this morning and now I had this strange feeling that I'd keep missing her more and more whenever she was not around. A strange feeling indeed.

* * *

 **Chapter song: Lullaby - Nickelback**


	13. CH13 - The Promise

**POV: Dimitri**

The stewardess announced that we would be taking off soon and we were instructed to fasten our seatbelts. Ivan lazily clipped his into place and yawned, checking his watch casually. This was his millionth time up in the sky. He had been commuting by planes since before he could walk. I, on the other hand, stepped on it just one time after the Strigoi attack in Omsk and at that point I was too concerned by what I had just lived through to even pay attention to where I was. Now, I was freaking nervous. And it was showing.

"You okay?", Ivan questioned as I blew out a long breath.

I wordlessly nodded, seeing him lean over out of the corner of my eye until he was almost right in front of my face.

"Dimitri?"

"I don't like planes", I mumbled out, nervously tapping my leg so much that I was starting to think it might fall off and roll away from the rest of my body. I wanted to still it, but as the engines roared outside I knew I had lost that battle before I even started it properly.

"The fearless Dimitri Belikov is scared of flying, who knew", Ivan commented in amusement, angering me slightly by his teasing.

"I'm not scared, I just... never mind."

"Hey buddy", he exclaimed, nudging my shoulder to get my attention, "There is nothing for you to worry about. I can assure you, if we are going to die, it's not going to be in a plane crash."

"That's not reassuring", I mumbled, but it still felt better to focus on anything else, even if it was Ivan's pointless comments.

"Take my mind of it", I pleaded as we rolled over the strip.

"Hmm, okay", he drawled before his face sparked with an idea and he lowered his voice, "I never did tell you how awesome my night with Savannah was. And well, the other nights too."

"Ugh, I've changed my mind. Shut up", I growled as we reached the required speed to shoot out of the airport.

He laughed and I cringed as we took off, surging towards the big heights and leaving our home behind. It took me a few moments to breathe properly and by that time Ivan was already taking his belt off and readjusting in his seat so that he could pull one of his legs up and prompt it on the other. He began talking about what we would do once we reached our destination, but I was too distracted to fully commit to the conversation. There had been something on my mind for days and it had a way of resurfacing whenever I wasn't too occupied by my chores.

Ever since the night of my birthday I felt like I was walking on eggshells around Emma. She wasn't exactly ignoring me, but she was distant, different. I believed it was the secret that we winded up sharing by accident that made her so ridged around me. Perhaps she was scared that I might break my promise and tell our friends what I'd learned about her or she thought that I lied when I told her I considered her to be perfectly normal. Actually, I considered her to be extraordinary, but saying that to her could only have made things even more awkward between us.

On our last day of school, when we were all packing and saying goodbye to each other I barely had a chance to wave at her before she disappeared behind the school gates and climbed into the limo her father had sent for her. I wondered where she was. We never did finish our conversation about our winter break plans since we had been interrupted by the doctors and afterwards, with all the weirdness between us, it never came up.

"Hello, earth to Dimitri", Ivan sang when he realized I didn't hear a single word of what he had just said.

"Sorry, I-."

"Left your brain back in Russia?", he chuckled as the stewardess served us refreshments.

"Something like that", I breathed out and took a swig from the can of coke I'd asked for.

"That's okay. We don't need your brain. We just need your fun regime turned on."

"I'll turn it on", I promised, which was enough to satisfy Ivan and have him leaving me to my thoughts.

We dozed off for most of the flight or chatted about random things. Finally, I devoted to reading the first book of the series my sisters bought for me and he pushed his headphones on and listened to music, rocking his head to the rhythm while he stared at the inside of his eyelids. Once we were close to landing I decided to take a peek outside. The sky was on fire. Not literally, of course, but it certainly looked like it was. The mesmerising colors of the dying sun splashed over the cotton candy like clouds reflecting as if it was hitting water or a mirror and blinding my foolish grinning face. It wasn't often that I was graced with the opportunity to feel the sun on my skin, even if it was through a window, so I made it a habit to rejoice in those precious moments.

"Could you close the blinder before my face melts off?", Ivan voiced from the seat next to me, his headphones now back in his backpack.

"No need to be so dramatic", I teased, but obliged regardless.

"I'm not dramatic my friend. I come alive when the sun goes down for a reason", he responded, making a show out of smiling in a way that made his fangs visible enough to underline his point.

"Airplane full of people, Ivan", I hissed, checking around us to make sure I was the only one who knew there was a vampire riding on our plane.

"Relax Dimka, nobody cares", he chuckled, turning around to dispose of the magazine he was reading as the seat-belt sign went on again, "Are you gonna pass out on me?"

"I don't think so", I confidently said, trying not to let irrational fear consume me again. Ivan was right, the chances of us dying in a plane crash were close to none.

"Good, cause that fun regime needs to start. Italy, here we come."

 **POV: Ivan**

"I'm bored", I whined as I watched Dimitri chew his breakfast patiently.

"W-um-hy?", he asked, putting his fork down and swallowing the bite, "I'm having a great time."

"Yeah you, with your love for architecture, and boring old buildings, and endless museums, and nature-", I rambled before he cut in.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, except that it's been a week of that and zero days of fun", I pointed out before I got up to wash my empty cup of coffee, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love all of that, but I also love going out and having fun with people, and by people I don't mean my boring old cousin."

"I'm people too", Dimitri protested, but couldn't help laughing at his own words. I rolled my eyes at him and he sighed before he added: "Okay, what do you want to do then?"

"I'm glad you asked", I exclaimed, hopping over to the living room and motioning Dimitri to abandon his seat in the kitchen to join me.

When he was settled next to me on the couch, I plopped the catalog I had left on the coffee table right into his lap while proudly grinning at him. He studied it quietly for a few moments before he asked: "What is this?"

"This right here", I said pointing towards some random paragraph in the text, "Says: A perfect way for two young boys to have a blast."

"I don't know Italian, but I'm pretty that's not what that means", he laughed, but there was already a worried frown forming on his forehead, "Ivan, we agreed you weren't to spend more money than you already have on me."

"Come on Dimka. It's only for four nights, not exactly something that will bankrupt me. Besides, this isn't for you, it's for me. I love Venice."

"I'm sure you do, but how will we get to Venice? Last I checked, we were in a pretty remote area and we don't own a car. And how will you feed? You can't just kidnap your cousin's feeder, no matter how much he annoys you", he argued, overthinking in his usual fashion. And then he accused me of pondering on things too much.

"I'll work it all out, just say you'll go", I pleaded, making the most devastated face I could.

"Ugh, fine", he moaned and I barely sustained a shriek of joy at his words.

It took me about a nanosecond to pick up the phone and dial my parents while simultaneously making arrangements with my cousin. To say he wasn't my favorite man in existence was an putting it nicely, but my parents had tremendous respect for him and very good relations since he helped out my mom a lot when she was looking for employment. The truth was, she didn't really need a job, but she rather enjoyed having something to do other than sit at home like most of the Royal housewives. She also thought that her actions might set a good example for me. She didn't want me to be like other rich spoiled kids, who never did anything significant with their lives. And I agreed with her on that department one hundred percent. Sure I was indeed spoiled, being their only child and all, but I was also well brought up and taught that modesty was one of the greatest qualities one could possess. I never flaunted my status or money. Actually, I found that repulsive. I would sometimes joke around with my closest friends about being loaded and I had no problems whatsoever spending that same money on them, which was ultimately a whole different story than the arrogance of some Royals who thought that they owned the world because of the depths of their pockets.

My parents loved Dimitri, so much that they considered him to be their second son. They didn't even stop to think when I asked them to finance his birthday present, just like they didn't protest when I asked to take him to Venice. And so we were off within a day.

Dimitri looked like he was seeing the world for the first time, his eyes filled with curiosity and awe every step of the way. I thought he might collapse from the overload of beauty Venice represented. I barely managed to get him to go inside of our hotel long enough to drop our things before we were off wandering through the typical narrow streets of Italy. The guardian that my cousin had arranged for us basically had to run to catch up to us the entire day. I honestly didn't see the need for his presence since we were out and about during the sun, well more like during the grey lit sky since the weather wasn't exactly all that warm and fuzzy. Plus, I was fairly certain Dimitri could handle any unexpected situations that could arise. Yes, I had that much trust and confidence in my best friend.

We were exhausted by the time we went back to our room, but I was determined to fully use every moment of our time here. I forced Dimitri to help me give our guardian the slip and we managed to get our hands on a bottle of champagne in the hotel's bar. Guess they didn't ask for IDs in luxurious places like this one. We snuck out onto an empty balcony on the main floor that hung over one of the countless canals around the complex. The view was quite breath-taking with the faint streetlights casting glittery rays over the tranquil surface of the water. Dimitri leaned over the railing and inhaled the sharp scent of salt and whatever else the gentle breeze carried our way. He looked as calm as the quiet night around us and I watched him with a sense of fondness while he closed his eyes and smiled to himself.

"Is that drink coming or what?", he called out to me, turning to face me.

"Look at you. First you escape from our guardian despite your better judgement and now you want to get intoxicated. I've ruined you", I teased him as I popped the cork and offered him the bottle.

"You're safe here and I'm sure one bottle won't affect us that much", he concluded thoughtfully, but he still had the most carefree expression I'd ever seen on him.

"There is more from where that came from", I pointed out as he took a swing of the bubbly drink and handed it back to me.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves", he warned and I laughed loudly throwing my hands up.

"There he is ladies and gentlemen, the real Dimitri is back."

He rolled his eyes at me and strolled over to the bench positioned near the entrance to the balcony. I joined him, prompting my legs on the armrest and leaning against him. We passed the bottle back and forth for a while before he spoke up again.

"It's always going to be like this, isn't it?"

"Like what?"

"You and me-."

"Against the world", I cut in through a chuckle, "Well I'm hoping there will also be some ladies to accompany us at some point and, you know, maybe kids."

"You", he mumbled pensively.

"Hmm?"

"Accompany you. You'll have a lady and kids, not me", he stressed, making me sit up and turn towards him in shock.

"What are you talking about? Of course you will. You are a dashing man you know. I'm sure there are plenty of ladies who'd be honored to carry your last name."

"Ivan", he growled, gracing me with another eye roll before he got all gloomy again, "Whether I am dashing or not is irrelevant. I won't have time for all of that."

"And by all of that you mean a family. Come on Dimitri you were born a family man. Are you really telling me you don't want one?"

"It's not about what I want", he argued persistently, "My job will be to protect you. I can't have any sorts of distractions and-."

"Bullshit", I exclaimed, now jumping to my feet enraged, "That's bullshit. I won't accept that, not for a second. You and I, hey, look at me... you and I, we are going to be different. We are going to be better than others. We are not going to be that stupid cliché where you have less rights than I do just because you are my guardian."

"But I-", he tried cutting in. However I had no intentions of letting him cling to this foolish idea.

"No 'buts'. You and I will be different. Promise me", I stressed, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him, "Promise me or I won't let you be my guardian. I won't be the cause of your unhappiness. I won't."

"Okay", he breathed out fixing my eyes, "Okay Ivan, just calm down."

"Promise me", I repeated desperately, because I meant every word that I'd said and I couldn't live with myself thinking for a minute longer that he'd have to give up on anything for me.

"I promise."

We stared at one another for a few moments before I cleared my throat and blinked, leaning back on my heels and attempting to smile.

"We are going to need another bottle."

 **POV: Dimitri**

"Mannnn this champagne is fineee", Ivan drawled happily as his head fell back to rest against the bench while he shifted on the floor.

"Sure is", I blurted out through a fast forming haze in my mind. I needed this, I needed to let go, to lose myself for a while.

"We are almost out", Ivan announced through a pout as he shook the bottle in the air to get my attention.

I snatched it from him and just as I was about to bring it to my lips, the balcony doors opened and a young Moroi woman walked out into the shadows. I attempted to hide the bottle behind my back, an effort that was pointless since we had lined up the other empty ones all around the bench. The woman walked up to us, clearly amused by our ridiculous tries to retrieve any sort of representable behaviors and she chuckled: "Relax. I'm not a scary, judging parent. You guys are safe."

Regardless of her reassuring words we wobbly stood up and Ivan sort of bowed, more leaned down sloppily which only seemed to entertain her more. She stepped forward and extended her hand, waiting patiently for me to hand her the champagne. She studied the bottle for a few moments before she took a hefty gulp from it and grinned.

"This brings back memories", she chuckled and when we just kept staring at her wordlessly, she added, "What, you think you guys invented the sneaking out and drowning in these babies? Please! I did the same damn thing when I was your age. Hell, I still do it from time to time. Not that I'm much older than you anyway."

"How old are you?", I asked without thinking really.

"A lady should never reveal her age", she chuckled before she paused and decided to let us in on the secret, "I'm a little over twenty. Okay, fine, I'm twenty-three which must seem ancient to you."

"No, of course not", Ivan butted in, getting his usually charisma back, "And would the lady be so kind to share her name with us as well?"

"Aren't you a charmer?", she giggled, "I'm Bella. It's a pleasure to meet you-."

"Ivan", he offered before he pointed at me and added, "Dimitri."

She smiled as a mischievous spark flashed in her eyes followed by a suggestion: "I came out here to get some fresh air, but if you boys don't mind I'd like to join you."

"Of course", Ivan was quick to agree, "We can get more of these."

"I'll get them. Give me a minute."

It was four in the morning by the time we downed the last bottle we had. We talked about many things, from the current weather to politics of our society. Bella was a very interesting woman and the more she spoke about herself or her opinions, the more impressed I became. She was very smart and rather gorgeous too. At some point Ivan's phone rang, the sound cracking through the relative silence enough to have all three of us jumping up with near heart attacks.

"Shit", he mumbled, fumbling with his pocket as he attempted to get to his phone before it woke up the entire city. He focused on the screen and the caller ID got him to sober up pretty damn fast.

"It's Savannah, I gotta take this."

I nodded while Bella whistled and leaned over to me to whisper: "Is Savannah an admirer?"

"It's his girlfriend", I supplied as Ivan tumbled back inside and quickly added, "I'm going to our room."

"What about you?", Bella asked as the door swung behind Ivan, leaving the two of us alone.

"What about me?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?", she prompted while she winked at me.

"No", I responded averting my gaze like that was a sort of a thing to be ashamed of. It wasn't, but for the first time I felt like I was missing out on something by being single.

"That's surprising", she shrugged, moving so that could turn towards me instead of the river.

"Why is that surprising?", I questioned, taking the same position she did.

"Hmm, Dimitri, when was the last time you checked yourself out in the mirror?", she chuckled her eyes scanning me up and down in a way that made me feel like I was her prey, "Besides, you have the brains to go with the looks."

"So do you", I blurted out, instinctively.

"Sure, but then again I'm not a big fan of commitment."

"Me neither", I added, grasping at my confidence. She was right, she wasn't that much older than us and at some points I didn't even feel that difference. That changed when I was left alone with all of her attention directed at me. I felt like there was a gaping chasm between us, a void that I had yet to fill with knowledge and experience she obviously possessed. I was like a child learning to walk and she was already running.

"Looks like Ivan abandoned us", she suddenly commented, glancing back at the door through which he disappeared.

"I'm sure he'll be back", I mumbled, still feeling the lingering sensation her strong gaze produced.

"And if he doesn't come back?"

"Well, I guess I'll just go back to our room too", I concluded as she leaned over and fixed my eyes again. She was close, close enough for our breaths to melt together.

"Or you could come to mine", she carefully said, like she was testing the waters. And the temperature was just right.

The trip to her room was short, but it gave me just enough time to message Ivan that I'd meet him later back at ours. I had no idea what had gotten into me, but I knew that with the way she was just looking at me I would have given her anything she desired. She had a strange effect on me, like I was incapable of resisting or fighting back against what she had suggested.

As soon as we were behind closed doors she grabbed my jacket and pulled me towards her, her pink lipstick coated lips smashing against mine. She kissed me boldly, hungrily even and my hands moved on their own accord, running up her body and into her short blond hair. We walked back towards her bed and fell on top of it without ever breaking our kiss. I'd never gotten worked up so fast in my life.

At some point I felt her tangling her hands into my hair and tugging me down, so I obliged knowing that she was in charge here and not just because of her obvious advantage when it came to experience. I was on top of her, but that didn't give me the upper hand. As a matter of fact, she could operate me like a tool because I was completely surrendered to her. From that moment on, most of the time, I had no idea what I was doing, but whatever it was it was freaking amazing. We didn't get to sex mostly because, even though it didn't really seem like it, she didn't plan for this to happen exactly and she didn't have condoms. There was a part of me that was glad, since as Ivan said back on that Sunday morning, she'd probably notice that I didn't have any experience in that particular area. I gained plenty of other valuable lectures throughout our activities though.

It was nearly morning when I was still left wide awake and sobered up, staring at the ceiling of her room as she serenely slept next to me. _Was I supposed to stay until the morning? Should I go now? She did say she wasn't a fan of commitments._ After a while I decided to leave, picking up my clothes and pulling them back on as I tiptoed my way to the door. I cast one more look back, pondering on my departure one last time before it happened.

It turned out she was leaving in the morning and to my utmost surprise she actually stopped by to say goodbye. She acted as if nothing had happened, which was for the best since it saved me a lot of explaining and Ivan was already too curious. There was just this one moment, a split of a second where she brushed my lips while she was kissing my cheek and whispered in a gentler tone "see you around", but luckily Ivan didn't notice that.

I'd heard about one-night stands enough times to know what they were and what they were supposed to look like. That didn't stop me from feeling this odd emptiness in the end, this lack of meaning that I couldn't quite explain to myself. I ought to get used to it though, because despite what Ivan claimed, despite what he made me promise, I still had a nagging feeling this was what my life would be like. Short trills and quick goodbyes, nothing more.

Apparently, Ivan winded up sleeping even less than I did since he had spent a long time on the phone with Savannah after which he kept tossing and turning for the rest of the night. I guessed they got into a fight judging by his mood, but he obviously had no intentions of sharing what had happened with me just as much I hadn't planned to share the events that followed his departure with him. There were some things that were better left unmentioned even between best friends.

Since he didn't feel like going anywhere, I left him to sleep, knowing he'd be safe with the guardian making sure nobody entered our room. It was the first sunny day after a few gloomy ones, so I decided to walk around for a while. I found my way to the Grand Canal and then strolled as close to the water as I could get. When I ran into a small gap in-between the countless cafes and restaurants on the banks I slipped through it and reached the edge. I stood there for a few moments, trying to make up my mind, before I crouched and took of my shoes off, rolling my jeans up to my knees and sitting on the edge so that I could dip my legs into the water. It was cold and muddy, but relaxing nonetheless. I leaned back on my palms and threw my head back, closing my eyes and cuddling up to the gentle rays that caressed my face.

"È stato terribile", a rather familiar voice exclaimed, drawing my attention to the restaurant left of me.

At first I thought I had imagined it along with the melodic laugh that followed. My thoughts were all over the place and I did just think of her as I absentmindedly played with my locket, the locket she bought for me. I scanned over the people in the restaurant and saw black locks jumping up and down as their owners shoulders shook from laughter. I stood up to get a better look, just to be certain it was her, as she peered over her shoulder to call the waiter. He passed between us which lead to her eyes falling on me when he moved. For a moment, there was a part of me that was convinced that the smile that still lingered on her face would disappear as she saw me and that she'd turn away and pretend like it never happened. I didn't know why I thought that, but I knew I was relieved when that wasn't the case. On the contrary, her lips pulled into a wider smile and she waved at me, calling me to her. I barely had the mind to put my shoes back on before I made my way towards her. She stood up to greet me and gave me a tight hug.

"What were the chances?", Emma chuckled as I hugged her back and breathed in her shampoo when my face got lost in her wild hair, "From all of the places in the world, we winded up going to the same damn one."

"The chances were pretty small", I admitted as we stepped back and her companion studied me through a frown.

"Chi è questo ragazzo?", the guy spoke up in what seemed to me like disdain.

"Dimitri. È il mio amico di scuola", Emma shoot back, still looking at me with awe. Her friend, or whatever he was, didn't seem to like that.

"Lui è russo?", he snapped, causing Emma to glance back at him with an odd expression.

"Si. And you know English enough to ask me all of that so that he too can understand you", she responded in a way that made me think she was some other person that looked just like my friend, but wasn't her really. She never spoke to people with such sharpness and I wondered what the guy said to deserve the attitude.

Either way, her tone had an effect, since his stance shifted instantly and his expression was nothing short of picture perfect politeness. He stood up and extended his pale hand towards me introducing himself.

"Andrea Badica. It's nice to meet you Dimitri. Emma's told us a lot about you."

"Us?", I questioned before a hand clapped my shoulder.

"So this is the famous Dimitri Belikov", a grey-eyed Moroi that had suddenly joined us said through a smile. He looked a lot like the guy Emma was sitting with so I figured they were cousins, the difference in their accents ensuring the chances of their relations being closer were small. Unlike Andrea, this guy actually seemed very pleasant and less threatened by my presence.

"Famous? And what is it that I'm famous for?", I asked, now glancing back at Emma who had a visible blush on her cheeks.

He was about to say something before Emma just warned: "Julian, behave."

"My apologies", he chuckled sheepishly, "I have a big mouth."

"Your ego is bigger", Emma teased him and he stuck his tongue out at her playfully.

"Did you pay the bill?", Andrea cut in, clearly not interested in any further contestations between the rest of us, "We should get going. We'll miss our ferry."

"Someone seems to be in a rush", Julian mumbled before he looked at Emma and added, "I'm guessing your stay in Venice just got prolonged Sugar."

"You might recall that I was never leaving", Emma pointed out through a smirk, "Despite your pestering. My dad would kill me."

"Your dad does whatever his little princess asks for", he chuckled, but stepped around me and gave her the kind of hug that made it obvious he was saying goodbye, "Don't be a stranger. Court is terrible boring without you."

"Not up to me, but I'll try to visit during summer."

"Dimitri", Julian greeted as Andrea joined him, "Take care of our girl, will you? She's a magnet for trouble."

I nodded and the guys walked away, leaving Emma and I behind. She watched them go and waved at them when they glanced back. For a moment she looked sad, but when her violet eyes looked up at me again a smile formed on her face again and she asked: "So where is Ivan?"

Italy got ten times better in the course of the following few days. It turned out that Emma's father was here on business and he took her with him to give her a chance to enjoy herself a bit. She meet up with her friends, but apparently they had other places to be as well, so she was supposed to hang around by herself until it was time to go back to school. Running into Ivan and I was, in her words, _just perfect._ In my words, _it was beyond perfect_.

It was as if she had completely forgotten about her fears and edginess around me. She was back to her usual self. I had no other choice but to acknowledge the fact that she snuck under my skin when I wasn't paying attention and she had become almost as important as the friends I'd known for years. I missed her, so having her around was something that suited me. Having her around also meant that we basically had our personal tour guide since she knew her way around the town perfectly.

Julian was right though, her father was clearly always eager to please her since she managed to convince him to let her travel back to school with us. We had to go back and pick up the rest of our stuff from Ivan's cousin and she, upon Ivan's insisting, tagged along.

It was late night when we left Venice. The man that was guarding us, Paolo, was driving and Ivan pestered me about taking the front seat this time. He moved it forward as much as he could, but that still left little room for my gigantic legs. I was trying to find the least uncomfortable position when Emma kicked her shoes off and folded her legs underneath her. She gave me and encouraging smile and offered: "You can stretch them over here. I don't need that much space."

I took her up on, prompting my back on the door and settling my left hand on back of the seat as I pushed my legs across the car. She looked so tiny compared to me, even though our height difference wasn't really that big.

We were all tired, so we mostly dozed off. I couldn't sleep though, I was too alarmed by the darkness and what could be hiding in it. So I mostly tried keeping my eyes on our surroundings despite the heaviness of my eyelids. When I could hardly do it anymore, just as I was on the verge of passing out something happened. Something that made my eyes widen and my body go completely stiff. It happened while we were driving through a bend in the road, as the car shifted.

Emma, who had apparently fallen asleep at some point, rolled down the seat. She was completely relaxed and falling onto me didn't wake her. She winded up in the crook of my arm, her head settling on my chest. Her dark curls tumbled over her face and after a few moments she lazily moved her hand, reflexively hugging my waist in a way one would hug a pillow. My breath caught as she melted against me. I pondered on whether I should attempt to push her back, but I was afraid I might wake her. So after a few minutes I forced myself to relax as much as I could and start breathing properly again.

I was never really someone who loved too much physical contact unless it involved training. I wasn't uncomfortable hugging or anything, I just didn't have a urge to do it often. What bothered me was that with all of my other friends, male or female, I'd never felt... this. I'd never felt the same tingling, burning even, in the places my body touched with theirs. I was never panicked and yet so at ease when I was near them. Emma, she was different, she made me feel different. And that scared me. If I didn't know any better I'd think... no, no. She was my friend. She was just a friend.

I glanced down at her sleeping form through the dark and found my fingers slowly tangling in her locks and pulling them away from her face. She scrunched up her nose and frowned, but stayed under nonetheless. My lips pulled into a smile on their own as I scanned her face and watched her chest slowly heave with her shallow breaths.

She was just a friend.

* * *

 **Chapter song: The Promise - When In Rome (Thank you Gaya for your wonderful suggestion!)**

 **Sorry for the MIA situation guys! My beta and I had been very busy with life so this chapter took a while! Nonetheless, I hope you've enjoyed it! Let me know your thoughts in the "review sector"! Lots of kisses for all, until the next time,**

 **T!**

 **Translations:**

 **È stato terribile. = It was terrible.**

 **Chi è questo ragazzo? = Who is this guy?**

 **Dimitri. È il mio amico di scuola. = Dimitri. He is my friend from school.**

 **Lui è russo? = He is Russian? Si. = Yes.**


End file.
